RAN’s two fleet replenishment vessels out of service for repairs at the same time

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles has confirmed that the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) two fleet replenishment tankers are both non-operational due to ongoing repairs.

The latest blow to the RAN came towards the end of June when HMAS Stalwart (A304) became non-operational due to engine issues. She joins HMAS Supply (A195), which has been out of service since March 2023.

The Defence Minister said that HMAS Supply had had issues that were well-known and that his ministry was now aware of issues emerging from HMAS Stalwart.

No return to service dates have yet been given for both vessels, which supply fuel oil as well as fresh water, spare parts, provisions, and munitions to the RAN surface fleet.

HMAS Stalwart has extended a port visit to Darwin, in the Northern Territories, to address engine defects. The RAN will undertake a technical investigation of the vessel while also repairing the tanker at the same time, so that the vessel can return safely to her home port of Fleet Base West, at Garden Island in Sydney, and then undergo a maintenance period in Perth.

HMAS Supply has been out of service for more than one year and is not expected to be back in service until 2025 because of a defective propulsion shaft that was discovered during initial repair work last year.

HMAS Supply and her sister ship were built by the El Ferro yard of Spain's Navantia, which has accepted liability for the shaft issues, with HMAS Supply being repaired in Australia under warranty. Both 19,500 tonnes full-load displacement vessels are powered by a MAN diesel-electric system.

Meanwhile, repairs to HMAS Supply over the past 12 months have also revealed another issue with an element in the vessel’s intermediate shaft, which is located between the gearbox and the propeller shaft.

According to RAN, in the worst-case scenario, it takes 40 weeks before a replacement part for the intermediate shaft is available Down Under.