Bay boosts Navy amphib fleet

The Largs Bay displaces 16,000 tonnes – more than twice that of the HMA Ships Kanimbla and Manoora, is 176 metres long, has a 26 metre beam, and its flightdeck is large enough to handle two Chinook helicopters or three MRH/NFH90s or Seahawks.

The RAN’s amphibious shortfall had been brought about by the early decommissioning of HMAS Manoora in February after that ship had been laid up for several months due to major corrosion and equipment issues, and the parlous state of sister ship HMAS Kanimbla, which has been on a Seaworthiness Board imposed operational pause since last September.

Indeed, Australian Aviation understands Kanimbla is likely to suffer a similar fate to that of Manoora following the Largs Bay acquisition. Further, the RAN’s other amphibious vessel, HMAS Tobruk, has been laid up since January – despite the defence minister being told it was available to sail at 48 hour’s notice – after requiring urgent repairs on a prop shaft bearing, and is due to be decommissioned next year. These factors left the ADF with no ocean going amphibious support capability during recent natural disasters in Queensland, New Zealand and Japan.

Consequently, Defence Minister Stephen Smith has been publicly scathing of the state of the RAN’s fleet, describing it as “unacceptable” and openly criticising the DMO and Navy in the media for the capability decline.

Coincidentally, the prospect of acquiring Largs Bay was first raised in AUKMIN meetings in February and March between Minister Smith and his UK counterpart, Secretary of State for Defence Dr Liam Fox. “We believe there is potential for Australia and the United Kingdom to work together on Defence capability procurement issues,” Smith said in February, suggesting that the UK’s need to divest itself of such a significant naval asset would align with Australia’s need to acquire a similar asset.

Rather than a lease which had been mooted, the Largs Bay has been acquired by the Commonwealth for just £65m (A$102m), a fraction of what a new vessel of this size and capability would cost, and an unexpected expenditure no doubt partially facilitated by an underspend on key defence projects during the current financial year and government’s desire to realise a budget surplus from FY2014/15. It has been reported in the UK media that Brazil, Chile, Canada and India had also expressed interest in the vessel at various stages. The UK MoD held a bidders conference in Portsmouth on February 9, and bids closed on March 17.

When Kanimbla and Manoora were bought second hand from the US Navy in the early 1990s, after being laid up for several years, they were both found to be in poor condition and required extensive and costly repairs and modifications to be brought up to an operational standard. Perhaps with this in mind, the commonwealth arranged for the Largs Bay to be surveyed prior to submitting its bid, and further surveys and sea trials are believed to be scheduled before a contract is signed.

Teekay Shipping Australia was contracted to assist with the pre-bid inspections, and according to Teekay’s report, “the ship presents very well, and from a technical point of view, there are no major defects. ” Just how Largs Bay will fit in to the larger JP 2048 project to recapitalise the Navy’s amphibious fleet remains to be seen. The vessel may have a short service life as the two larger Canberra class LHDs are commissioned and worked up from 2014, or it may end up being the ultimate Phase 4C solution, which would have seen the Tobruk replaced from 2018. In the meantime, the vessel will be sustained through the JP 2048 project office.

An immediate capability gain with the Largs Bay will be the availability of a floating well dock for the disembarkation of troops and equipment into smaller landing craft and amphibious vehicles, and this should also provide an invaluable training and CONOPS development tool for the floating docks on the larger Canberra class LHDs. But unlike the older LPAs, Largs Bay does not have an aircraft hangar, and will instead have to utilise a temporary aircraft shelter, which Defence says is capable of housing two medium sized helicopters (MRH 90/Seahawk), and is “of durable construction and specifically designed for and used in Bay class ships. ” The vessel is capable of embarking up to 32 Challenger II main battle tanks, or 150 light trucks. A normal load of 356 troops can be carried, or an overloaded complement of 500 can be accommodated for short periods. The Largs Bay alone has a similar capacity to that of Manoora, Kanimbla and Tobruk combined.