The Royal Australian Navy commissioned the first of two auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR) ships in a ceremony at Fleet Base East in Sydney on April 10.
HMAS Supply entered service after arriving at HMAS Stirling, Garden Island in Western Australia, for the final stage of its construction in October 2020.
HMAS Supply spent five months receiving specialized equipment that cannot be installed overseas for security reasons such as the close-in weapons system, communications suite, and the combat system.
NUSHIP Supply (II) is the lead ship of two AOR ships Spanish shipbuilder Navantia is delivering under a contract from May 2016. The Australian Supply-class ships are based on the Spanish Navy’s Cantabria-class design.
The ships are intended to carry fuel, dry cargo, water, food, ammunition, equipment and spare parts to provide operational support for the deployed naval or combat forces operating far from the port on the high seas for longer periods.
In addition to replenishment tasks, the vessels can be used to combat against environmental pollution at sea, provide logistics support for the armed forces, and to support humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) operations following a natural disaster.
NUSHIP Supply was laid down in November 2017 and then launched at the Navantia Shipyards in Ferrol, Spain, in November 2018.
