Fishy
business
HMAS
Gascoyne (LCDR Dean Schopen) came to the rescue of a small fishing
boat while conducting pilotage training on the Hawkesbury River
late last month.
The small vessel, with three men onboard, was anchored in the
middle of the river. The men were frantically waving their arms
around to indicate they were in distress and Gascoyne moved into
position.
The ship’s seaboat was sent out for an initial investigation and
it was discovered that the outboard motor on the vessel, Demon
Dee, was no longer operational and it would need to be towed a
further three nautical miles up the Hawkesbury to Brooklyn.
Rolls-Royce service
Rolls-Royce will build and operate specialist rescue craft for
submarines in distress.
The company has been selected by the UK Ministry of Defence, acting
on behalf of partner nations UK, France and Norway, in a contract
worth £47 million.
The NATO Submarine Rescue System will enter service at the end
of 2006.
Rolls-Royce will provide a Remotely Operated Vehicle, an unmanned
craft which will locate the submarine within 56 hours to check
for signs of life by tapping on the hull and underwater telephone
contact, take air quality measurements, provide emergency supplies
to survivors and prepare the submarine for the rescue stage by
removing debris.
It will also deliver a three-man operated Submarine Rescue Vehicle
which will, within 72 hours, dive up to 600 metres below the sea
to rescue up to 150 survivors in groups of up to 15 at a time.
Leeuwin sea-ride
HMAS
Leeuwin has taken groups of Wollongongbased Naval and Air Force
Cadets for a sea-ride to Sydney.
Leeuwin was returning to her home-port of Cairns after survey
work off Flinders Island, Tasmania, and work in the vicinity of
Jervis Bay.
In addition to the Naval and Air Force Cadets, a number of civilian
staff from the Wollongong-based Australian Hydrographic Office
and the HS-SPO had familiarisation trips to and from Port Kembla
harbour.
