Royal Australian Navy replenishment ship HMAS Sirius returned to Fleet Base West on December 15, concluding her Indo-Pacific Endeavour deployment.
The ship’s crew of 73 returned home after four months at sea.
Commanding officer, Commander Michael Oborn said that their recent mission focused on enhancing military cooperation with Australian regional partners including Indonesia, Japan, India, Malaysia, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Brunei, Timor-Leste, Thailand, Cambodia and the Federated States of Micronesia.
“The deployment was part of ongoing efforts to enhance and develop strong positive relations with regional militaries through both dialogue and practical activities,” Commander Oborn said.
“The Joint Task Group demonstrated the Australian Defence Force’s ability to operate across the full spectrum of military operations, from high-end military capabilities such as anti-submarine warfare to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
“The deployment involved service personnel from the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force and including Defence civilians, helicopters, and fixed wing aircraft,” he said.
During the deployment Sirius also achieved a first in her career delivering 23 pallets of consigned cargo to USS Lake Erie, the first time the ship has conducted international consigned cargo on such a large scale.
In total, Sirius extended the operational reach and endurance to eight ships by conducting 24 replenishments at sea providing a total of 8,615 cubic meters of fuel.