News Review: Australia eyes UK LSD vessel | ADM Mar 2011
As previously suggested in ADM’s Defence Week Premium newsletter, the RAN is considering buying or leasing one of Britain’s Bay-class Landing Ships Dock (LSD), confirmed minister for defence Stephen Smith. The UK MoD plans to retire at least one of these ships early to cut costs. During the Australia-UK Ministerial (AUKMIN) talks in January, Smith discussed a possible deal with his British counterpart Dr Liam Fox.
“We want to have a very close look at whether it’s appropriate for us to either lease or buy one of the so-called Bay class landing vessels,” Smith told reporters after the talks. “And I’m not proposing to put a cost on that, we just want to explore whether it is a sensible thing for Australia to do to acquire one of those assets. Dr Fox and I have agreed that our officials will now pursue that matter.”
The talks assumed greater importance shortly after when Ministers Smith and Clare announced that one of the RAN’s two 40-year old LPAs, HMAS Manoora, would be decommissioned forthwith. She and her sister ship, HMAS Kanimbla, were placed on an ‘operational pause’ last September by the Navy’s Seaworthiness board; repairs to Manoora would cost $420 million, Smith said and wouldn’t be complete until April 2012, and the ship is due to pay off at the end of that year: “That is not value for money for another nine months of service.”
Defence has been asked to put forward a transition plan for the smooth introduction to service of the two Canberra-class Landing ships Helicopter Dock (LHD), which are currently under construction in Spain.
“I have asked Defence to present me with options and recommendations to ensure the smooth transition to the LHD,” Smith said. “This could include the lease or purchase Ships that would provide a platform to train and prepare for the LHDs, such as a Bay-class ship from the UK Government. If this option is taken up it could provide for the decommissioning of the HMAS Kanimbla or HMAS Tobruk to be brought forward,” he added.
Kanimbla is not expected to be available for operations until mid-2012 and is currently scheduled to be decommissioned at the end of 2014. The UK-designed Landing Ship Heavy (LSH) HMAS Tobruk is currently being maintained at 48 hours readiness, but will be required to undergo a lengthy docking this year to replace worn-out propeller shaft bearings. She is also due to be decommissioned at the end of 2012.
Under JP 2048 Ph 4 the two Canberra-class LHDs are meant to replace one of the LPAs and Tobruk; a later sub-phase of JP2048 Ph.4 would see the replacement of the second LPA with a new strategic sealift ship. The 27,000-tonne LHDs are 230 meters long and can carry a combined armed battlegroup of more than 1,000 personnel, 100 armoured vehicles and 12 helicopters. Each also includes a 40-bed hospital.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) has four Bay-class LSDs which were built to replace its own LSHs but are nearly three times larger; the oldest of the new vessels, RFA Mounts Bay, was commissioned in 2006. They displace 16,000 tonnes and have a large, Chinook-capable flight deck, 1,200 lane-metres of vehicle space, accommodation for 356 troops and a flooding well dock capable of carrying a single LCM8 landing craft or two smaller LCVPs.
The opportunity to lease or buy a Bay-class ship at a very competitive price might be irresistible, notwithstanding the fiscal constraints imposed by Defence’s Strategic Reform Program. The UK ship has a crew of just 60 personnel, compared with 150 on Tobruk and being little more then five years old would be considerably cheaper to operate as well as offering significantly greater payload than the 30-year old LSH. ADM understands a team from the DMO has recently travelled to the UK to assess the option more closely.