NAVY Warships
NAVY Warships
HMS NOTTINGHAM
USS JOHN F. KENNEDY
HMAS Wollongong is one of the
Fremantle class patrol boats 14 February 2006
Decommissioning of HMAS Wollongong and HMAS Bunbury The current HMAS WOLLONGONG
has taken part in "Non Warlike" service in the Solomon Islands as part of
Operation Helpum Fren (Oct/Nov 2003). During the course of her service
WOLLONGONG has visited many ports in South East Asia and the Pacific and has
also travelled extensively to Australian Ports.
42-metre HMAS Wollongong HMAS Wollongong is one of the Fremantle class patrol
boats that are being replaced by the faster and more spacious Armidale class
vessels.
It caught a final Indonesian fishing boat off Maningrida last week and headed
into the Coonawarra Basin at sunset last night, trailing the traditional
decommissioning pendant.
The boat's captain, Lieutenant Commander Iain Jarvie says he will be a bit sad
to see it go.
"This has been the pinnacle of my 22 years in the Navy...and it also pretty much
for me represents the end of my sea-going career of 14 odd years so a pretty
momentous thing," he said.
Lieutenant Commander Jarvie says the boat's ultimate fate has not been
finalised.
"Some of them have been used as training targets some of them have been sunk as
dive wrecks," he said.
The patrol boat will be fully decommissioned on the February 11.