The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) longest serving ship, HMAS SUCCESS OR 304 , has completed her final voyage after 33 years’ service to Australia.
HMAS SUCCESS a Durance class Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment (AOR) ship built by Cockatoo Docks & Engineering Company in Sydney, Australia, during the 1980s, she is the only ship of the class to be constructed outside France, and the only one to not originally serve in the Marine Nationale. The ship was part of the Australian contribution during the Gulf War in 1991 and was deployed to East Timor in response to incidents in 1999 and 2006. The ship was fitted as double hull during the first half of 2011, to meet International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards.
Commissioned in 1986, the ship has steamed over one million nautical miles, participated in a world record 11 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises, earned battle honours for service during the 1991 Gulf War and East Timor in 1999, and helped search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370.
HMAS SUCCESS will be decommissioned at a formal ceremony at Fleet Base East in Sydney on Saturday, June 29. Plans for the vessel after decommissioning are under consideration by the Australian Government.
Photo by Capt. Lawrence Dalli. Do not use these images without my permission. © All rights reserved. Malta Ship Photos & Action Photos – www.maltashipphotos.com
