Adelaide’s numbers up

By Michael Brooke

AT LAST: HMAS Adelaide’s LS Jason Lynch is welcomed back to FBW by his son Patrick. Photo: ABPH Jarrad Oliffe

One of the Navy’s hardest working missile frigates, HMAS Adelaide (CMDR Anthony O’Malley), returned to FBW recently after a voyage spanning 142 days that began with Ex Kakadu VII in Australia’s northern waters and concluded with Ex Bersama Lima in the South China Sea.

Adelaide returned home on October 6 to be greeted by the cheers of excited family and friends after burning 4.7 million litres of fuel and steaming 22,574 nautical miles, a distance almost equal to travelling around the world.

Ironically, Adelaide’s fuel consumption was nearly as great as the appetite of her 186 crew, who consumed a staggering 75,600 meals including 34,320 eggs.

CMDR O’Malley said Adelaide successfully participated in a number of international maritime exercises.

“One of the highlights of Bersama Lima was watching aircraft from five nations conducting low-level bombing runs on a target towed behind the ship,” he said.

During the deployment Adelaide visited Christmas Island and Darwin, and made goodwill visits to Singapore, Penang and Kemaman in Malaysia and Sihanoukville in Cambodia.

CMDR O’Malley said the milestone of the voyage was the port visit to Sihanoukville, which was the first visit by a major RAN ship since the Vietnam War.

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