Stuart passes commercial survey

L-R: WOMTE Mick Nixon posted to HMS Drake, PONPC Barb Reid posted to HMS Raleigh, LSATA Chad Summers posted to HMS Sultan.

By Graham Davis
HMAS Stuart one of the Royal Australian Navy’s newest warships has been given her pink slip. Like the pink slip provided by authorised mechanics certifying a motorist’s car is roadworthy, a Certificate of Class been awarded.

The classification society Germanischer Lloyd has spent many months checking the ship for her hull strength, watertight capabilities, her propulsion and steering and her supplementary systems. The society’s inspectors also looked closely at the ship’s environmental systems.

Stuart passed the inspections and on May 20, in a ceremony on the ship’s bridge, Mr Hergen Thielemann, the Managing Director for the East Asia Division of the society formally presented the certificates to the ship’s commanding officer, CMDR David Greaves in the presence of the MCAUST, RADM Raydon Gates and Mr Georgios Spiliotis, the society’s area manager.

Also present was the Greek Consul General Mr Evangelos Damianakis and the Greek Maritime Consul, CAPT V Tsiropoulos. The Greek Navy has four Meko ships and they too are involved in the “class certification” process.
“This certification is a feather in the RAN’s cap,” RADM Gates said.

“It is the way of the future.

“We want our ships surveyed as is done with commercial vessels.”

Certification is taken very seriously. Germanischer Lloyd inspectors are based at Tenix, Williamstown and are working with the builders of the RAN’s Anzac fleet. An inspector closely watched Toowoomba enter the water for the first time on May 16.

The dignitaries at the Stuart presentation were told that she was the first warship in the world to carry a “load line” on her hull.

“Our aim is to provide safety for the crew, the safety of the ship and the protection of the environment,” Mr Spiliotis told the gathering when outlining the importance of the certification system.

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