MSA Brolga (1102)
MSA Brolga in 2001
|
|
| History | |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Australian Shipbuilding Industries |
| Launched: | 1975 |
| Renamed: |
|
| Reclassified: |
|
| Status: | Active in private service as of 2008 |
| History | |
 Australia
|
|
| Name: | MSA Brolga |
| Namesake: | The brolga |
| Acquired: | 10 February 1988 |
| In service: | 1988 |
| Out of service: | 2003 |
| Homeport: | HMAS Waterhen |
| Fate: | Sold in 2003 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 268 tons full load |
| Length: | 28.45 m (93.3 ft) |
| Beam: | 8.1 m (27 ft) |
| Draught: | 3.5 m (11 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 1 Mirrlees Blackstone diesel 540 hp, 1 shaft |
| Speed: | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: | 8-17 (RAN) |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
I-band navigation radar |
MSA (Minesweeper Auxiliary) Brolga (1102) was a minesweeper operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1988 and 2003. Launched in 1975 by Australian Shipbuilding Industries, the ship was designed for the Department of Transport as the lighthouse tender Lumen. Originally operating as a supply vessel for lighthouses around northern Queensland and the Torres Strait, the transition in lighthouse lights from acetylene gas to solar power meant there was less demand for the vessel, and by 1988, the Department of Transport was looking to sell the ship.
Around this time, the RAN was looking to acquire vessels under the Craft of Opportunity Program, to serve as auxiliary minesweepers and technology testbeds.
The ship has a full load displacement of 268 tons, is 28.45 metres (93.3 ft) in length, with a beam of 8.1 metres (27 ft), and a draught of 3.5 metres (11 ft). Propulsion machinery consists of a single Mirrlees Blackstone diesel, providing 540 horsepower (400 kW) to drive a single controllable-pitch propeller. Maximum speed is 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Ship sensors were limited to a single I-band navigational radar. Crew complement numbers vary: Jane's Fighting Ships lists 8 crew (including an officer), while the Royal Australian Navy's ship history gives 17.
She was built by Australian Shipbuilding Industries at their facility in Fremantle, Western Australia, and launched in 1975.
As Lumen, the ship was based out of Newfarm, Queensland, and tasked with supplying lighthouses around northern Queensland and the Torres Strait. As lighthouses became more self-sufficient by converting lights from acetylene gas to solar power, demand for the ship decreased. By 1988, the Department of Transport was offering the ship up for sale or disposal.
Around the same time, the RAN was looking for civilian vessels to lease under the Craft of Opportunity Program (COOP). The COOP sought to acquire testbed vessels for minesweeping equipment which could also be used as auxiliary minesweepers to bridge the capability gap between the Ton and Bay classes. The RAN arranged to purchase Lumen from the Department of Transport, with the ship entering naval service as MSA Brolga (taking the name used by a World War I auxiliary minesweeper) on 10 February 1988, in a handover ceremony at HMAS Moreton in Brisbane.
...
Wikipedia