HMAS Ararat patrol boat 89 (photo : RAN)
Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has decommissioned Armidale Class Patrol Boat HMAS Ararat at a ceremony at HMAS Coonawarra, Darwin, following 16 years of service.
Commander Australian Fleet, Commodore Jonathan Earley, CSC, recognised the service of the Ship’s Company.
“HMAS Ararat and the men and women who have served in her, have made a significant contribution to our national interest, and international partnerships,” Commodore Earley said.
Commanding Officer HMAS Ararat, Lieutenant Commander David Martinussen said since commissioning in 2006, HMAS Ararat has operated alongside Border Force, Australian Fisheries and the Australian Federal Police.
“Of note, HMAS Ararat has quite recently supported the maritime surveillance efforts of Fiji and the Solomon Islands at the request of both nations, during May and June of this year.
“During the first leg of this deployment, Ararat responded to a distress call from a vessel of the Solomon Island Police Force. Fortuitously Ararat’s actions resulted in the rescue of all 17 persons on board,” he said.
HMAS Ararat is named after the south-west Victorian town of Ararat, and she is the third RAN Armidale Class Patrol Boat to be decommissioned.
During service she has travelled over 500,000 nautical miles.
(Aus DoD)