The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) lead Supply-class auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR) ship, HMAS Supply, has set sail to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC)-2022 exercise.
The vessel has departed from Pearl Harbour and will carry out operations during the at-sea phase of the exercise in the waters of Hawaii.
During its deployment, the vessel will act as a range extender for a wide variety of international warships.
This will be the first time the lead of the two Supply-class AOR vessels will replenish the warships of multinational naval forces in the international waters.
The replenishment vessels are crucial in supporting various maritime operations, including search and rescue (SAR), humanitarian aid, disaster relief and war fighting missions.
HMAS Supply commanding officer commander Cindy Jenkins said: “Transferring hundreds of tonnes of fuel and supplies between ships underway, themselves weighing thousands of tonnes each, is a task that is not always easy.
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By GlobalData“But as a maritime nation, our ability to deliver this capability is essential to maintaining Australia’s national interests.
“We’re very excited to work with multiple partner navies over the next few weeks and look forward to strengthening partnerships and enhancing interoperability.
“Our participation in RIMPAC is a great achievement and reflective of a lot of hard work by the ship’s company and those ashore to get supply to where she is now.”
Built by Navantia, HMAS Supply was launched in 2018 and was commissioned in April last year.
The ship is primarily deployed for carrying fuel, water, food, dry cargo, equipment, ammunition, and spare parts to support the operations of naval forces deployed far from the port for longer periods.
Recently, the AOR vessel has completed firing trials for its Phalanx close-in weapon system (CIWS).