Papua New Guinea Defence Force vessel
HMPNGS
Lakekamu
is
Balikpapan
-class
landing craft
heavy (LCH) operated by the
Maritime Operations Element
of the
Papua New Guinea Defence Force
(PNGDF). The vessel was one of eight built for the
Royal Australian Navy
(RAN) in the 1970s, and was commissioned into the RAN as
HMAS
Labuan
(L 128)
in March 1973.
Labuan
was decommissioned in November 2014. She was transferred to the PNGDF for use as a
training ship
and was commissioned as
HMPNGS
Lakekamu
in December 2014.
Design and construction
[
edit
]
The eight-vessel
Balikpapan
class was ordered as a locally manufactured replacement for the
Australian Army
's
LSM-1-class landing ship medium
and
ALC 50
landing craft.
[1]
They are 44.5 metres (146 ft) long, with a beam of 10.1 metres (33 ft), and a draught of 1.9 metres (6 ft 3 in).
[2]
The
landing craft
have a standard displacement of 316 tons, with a full load displacement of 503 tons.
[2]
They are propelled by two G.M. Detroit 6?71 diesel motors, providing 675 brake horsepower to the two propeller shafts, allowing the vessels to reach 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph).
[2]
The standard ship's company is 13-strong.
[2]
The
Balikpapan
s are equipped with a Decca RM 916 navigational radar, and fitted with two 7.62 millimetres (0.300 in) machine guns for self-defence.
[2]
The LCHs have a maximum payload of 180 tons; equivalent to 3
Leopard 1
tanks, 13
M113 armoured personnel carriers
23 quarter-tonne trucks, or four
LARC-V
amphibious cargo vehicles.
[2]
[3]
As a troop transport, a
Balikpapan
-class vessel can transport up to 400 soldiers between a larger amphibious ship and the shore, or embark 60 soldiers in six-berth caravans for longer voyages.
[3]
[4]
The vessel's payload affects the range: at 175 tons of cargo, each vessel has a range of 1,300 nautical miles (2,400 km; 1,500 mi), which increases to 2,280 nautical miles (4,220 km; 2,620 mi) with a 150-ton payload, and 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) when unladen.
[2]
The flat, box-like keel causes the ships to roll considerably in other-than-calm conditions, limiting their ability to make long voyages.
[3]
The vessel was laid down by
Walkers Limited
, at
Maryborough, Queensland
on 1 November 1971, and launched on 29 December 1971.
[5]
She was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS
Labuan
(
pennant number
L 128) on 9 March 1973.
[5]
Labuan
is named after the World War II
amphibious landings at
the Borneo island of
Labuan
.
[
citation needed
]
On entering service, she was homeported at
HMAS
Moreton
in Brisbane.
[5]
Operational history
[
edit
]
After completing working-up exercises, in May 1973,
Labuan
transported
Clearance Diving Team One
(CDT1) to
Moreton Island
to destroy a World War II era torpedo.
[5]
In August, CDT1 was embarked again aboard
Labuan
, this time for a two-month deployment to Papua New Guinea.
[5]
Between 15 August and 12 October, the landing craft visited communities around Papua New Guinea, with the clearance divers clearing reef passages and disposing of unexploded ordnance from World War II.
[5]
After CDT1 flew back to Australia on 12 October,
Labuan
surveyed the
Fly River
, reaching 135 miles (217 km).
[5]
On 19 October, the vessel left Papua New Guinea and sailed to Cairns with
sister ship
HMAS
Brunei
.
[5]
In November,
Labuan
was used for the
Army
exercise Temple Tower.
[5]
On 21 November,
Labuan
and two fishing boats towed the rafts of the
Las Balsas Expedition
into the mouth of the
Richmond River
, after the rafts drifted off course on the final leg of their trans-Pacific voyage.
[6]
[7]
Between March and May 1974, the landing craft was based in Singapore, and was used to transport military materiel and stores to and from
Belawan
, Indonesia.
[5]
[
clarification needed
]
Several major exercises were participated in during the rest of 1974: Kangaroo One in June, and Kentia Palm in September.
[5]
During October and November,
Labuan
was stationed on the
Great Barrier Reef
with clearance divers embarked, as part of a project tracking the spread of the
Crown of Thorns starfish
.
[5]
Labuan
was the only RAN
Balikpapan
-class ship not involved in
Operation Navy Help Darwin
(the RAN response following
Cyclone Tracy
's destruction of Darwin in December 1974), as she was undergoing refit at the time.
[8]
In late February 1975,
Labuan
collided with a
lighter
during Exercise Wagon Train II.
[5]
The damage was limited to patching a hole above the waterline.
[5]
During April and May, the landing craft operated in southern Australian waters in support of Army training exercises.
[5]
Labuan
returned to Sydney, and during 12 and 13 May transported the RAN's first two
Sea King
helicopters to
Jervis Bay
.
[5]
The rest of 1975 and most of 1976 was spent on training exercises.
[5]
During September and October 1977,
Labuan
visited ports throughout South East Asia, cumulating in Biak on 6 October, where materiel used for Operation Cenderawasih ? mapping and charting of
Irian Jaya
? was loaded aboard.
[5]
The ship returned to Townsville on 25 October.
[5]
During June and July 1978,
Labuan
was deployed on
Operation Beachcomber
? surveying of northern Queensland beaches.
[5]
The rest of 1978 was spent on exercises.
[5]
On 12 February 1979,
Labuan
began a refit.
[5]
After the refit's conclusion, the vessel was transferred to the
Royal Australian Navy Reserve
(RANR) on 15 June 1979 to serve as the training vessel for the Port Brisbane Division.
[5]
[9]
In RNVR service,
Labuan
was used to provide training and seagoing experience to Reserve personnel, generally on two-week deployments.
[5]
Despite being operated by the RANR,
Labuan
maintained a heavy schedule of exercise deployments and operations in support of the Army and RAN.
[5]
During September and October 1980, clearance divers were embarked aboard
Labuan
for three weeks of shipping channel clearing around the Solomon Islands.
[5]
On 9 April 1987,
Labuan
rescued the 11 crew of the yacht
Madame de Farge
, which had run aground during the Sydney to Mooloolaba Yacht Race.
[5]
During January 1988, the vessel was in
Ballina, New South Wales
for
Bicentenary
celebrations.
[5]
In September,
Labuan
was in Sydney for the Bicentennial Naval Salute.
[5]
Labuan
was granted the right of
Freedom of Entry
to
Ballina, New South Wales
in 1988.
[6]
[
clarification needed
]
At the start of 1992, the final RANR training cruise occurred, after which the vessel was docked in Cairns for a refit.
[5]
On 17 August,
Labuan
was reassigned to the Permanent Naval Force, but because she was still undergoing refit, no permanent command team was assigned, and the post-refit trials were conducted under frequently-changing commanding officers.
[5]
From March until May 1993,
Labuan
was at
Forgacs
' Newcastle shipyard for removal of
asbestos
.
[5]
In August, the ship's home base was relocated to
HMAS
Cairns
in
Cairns, Queensland
.
[5]
On 31 December, the ship was forced to sail to avoid
Tropical Cyclone Rewa
.
[5]
During 1995,
Labuan
provided logistical support to
NORFORCE
.
[5]
On 14 May 1996, while returning from Exercise Thunder Bay 96, the landing craft ran aground on a reef off
South Harrison Island
. She was refloated on the next high tide, and returned to Cairns for repairs.
[5]
In March 1997, the ship was placed on standby to evacuate Australian citizens from political unrest in Papua New Guinea; this need did not eventuate, and
Labuan
resumed normal operations in early April.
[5]
During November,
Labuan
and
Tarakan
delivered humanitarian supplies to drought-stricken areas in northern Papua New Guinea.
[10]
From December 1997 to February 1998, the vessel was berthed in Cairns for communications upgrades.
[5]
During 1998 and 1999,
Labuan
made four deployments to
Bougainville Island
as part of
Operation Bel Isi
: March to April and August to October in 1998, and January to March and July to August in 1999.
[5]
In between these deployments, the ship continued on a program of training exercises and logistical support for other defence units.
[5]
Labuan
sailed to Dili, East Timor on 18 September 1999 as part of
INTERFET
.
[5]
The ship provided logistic support, beach landing capability, and rest facilities for INTERFET forces.
[5]
She remained in the area until 14 October, and was redeployed in support of INTERFET during November?December 1999, February?April 2000, June?July 2000, August?September 2000 and November?December 2000.
[5]
[11]
These deployments were later recognised with the
battle honour
"East Timor 1999?2000".
[12]
[13]
On returning to Cairns at the end of 2000, the ship was prepared for a Life of Type Extension refit; the refit itself lasted from late February 2001 to early September 2001.
[5]
On 15 October,
Labuan
sailed on another deployment to Bougainville, under Operation Bel Isi II.
[5]
During January 2002,
Labuan
was sent to Dili with a cargo of military vehicles.
[5]
From April to July, she was deployed to Bougainville as part of Operation Bel Isi II.
[5]
Subsequent deployments as part of the operation were made during September to October 2002, and April to May 2003.
[5]
From July until September, the ship was in the Solomon Islands as part of the RAN contribution to the
Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands
(RAMSI), with
Labuan
undertaking logistic support operations, patrols, and assisting in the collection of weapons under the gun amnesty.
[5]
A second RAMSI deployment occurred from April until May 2004.
[5]
In November 2004, the ship visited Ballina.
[5]
In March 2006,
Labuan
was involved in humanitarian operations following
Cyclone Larry
(after having ridden out the storm herself in Wahday Creek), moving supplies and equipment from Townsville to
Mourilyan
.
[5]
In June 2006, the ship transported materiel between Darwin and Dili in support of
Operation Astute
.
[5]
During August,
Labuan
was deployed on border patrol operations under
Operation Resolute
.
[5]
Further Resolute deployments occurred during September and October, and in June 2007.
[5]
During August and September 2008,
Labuan
hosted scientists from the
Defence Science and Technology Organisation
,
Curtin University
, and the Universities of
Queensland
and
Sydney
during a research survey of
Beaked Whales
.
[5]
From April until June 2009,
Labuan
and
Tarakan
were deployed to the southwest Pacific, visiting Vanuatu, Tonga, and Western Samoa.
[5]
In July 2010, the ship was involved in the US Navy's
Pacific Partnership
humanitarian assistance operation, providing over-the-shore support and acting as a forward base for medical and dental personnel during visits to Indonesia and Timor Leste.
[5]
In October 2013,
Labuan
participated in the
International Fleet Review 2013
in Sydney.
[14]
Labuan
visited Ballina in August 2014, during the ship's final cruise before decommissioning.
[6]
After participating in Exercise Croix Du Sud off New Caledonia,
Labuan
and
Tarakan
delivered humanitarian supplies to remote coastal settlements in the Solomon Islands in September 2014 as part of Australian support efforts in the region.
[15]
Labuan
, along with
Brunei
and
Tarakan
, were decommissioned on 20 November 2014.
[16]
The
ship's bell
and ceremonial life ring are to be put on display at the
Ballina Naval and Maritime Museum
.
[17]
In 2013, the Australian government had promised to gift one of the
Balikpapan
-class vessels due to leave RAN service to Papua New Guinea.
[18]
[
clarification needed
]
To this end,
Labuan
was sailed to Port Moresby by a combined RAN and PNGDF complement, and was commissioned into the PNGDF Maritime Operations Element on 4 December 2014.
[16]
[18]
The ship's new name comes from the
Lakekamu River
, in Papua New Guinea's
Gulf Province
.
[18]
[19]
HMPGS
Lakekamu
is used as a
training ship
.
[18]
As part of Australia's assistance to the
Papua New Guinea Defence Force
, the Royal Australian Navy provides her commanding officer and a chief of the boat.
[20]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Gillett,
Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946
, pp. 79, 125
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Wertheim (ed.),
The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World
, p. 26
- ^
a
b
c
Gillett,
Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946
, p. 79
- ^
"Balikpapan Class Heavy Landing Craft (LCH), Australia"
.
Naval Technology
. 2014
. Retrieved
27 September
2014
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
aa
ab
ac
ad
ae
af
ag
ah
ai
aj
ak
al
am
an
ao
ap
aq
ar
as
at
au
av
aw
ax
ay
az
ba
bb
bc
bd
be
bf
"HMAS Labuan (II)"
. Royal Australian Navy
. Retrieved
9 January
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
White, Leah (4 August 2014).
"HMAS Labuan bids Ballina farewell after long friendship"
.
The Northern Star
.
APN News & Media
.
- ^
Friends of Las Balsas (2013).
"Las Balsas Raft"
. Ballina Naval and Maritime Museum. Archived from
the original
on 16 May 2014
. Retrieved
9 January
2015
.
- ^
Swinden,
Heavy Lifting for Four Decades
, p. 22
- ^
Gillett,
Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946
, pp. 79?80
- ^
Swinden,
Heavy Lifting for Four Decades
, p. 23
- ^
Stevens, David (2007).
Strength Through Diversity: The combined naval role in Operation Stabilise
(PDF)
. Working Papers. Vol. 20. Canberra: Sea Power Centre ? Australia. p. 15.
ISBN
978-0-642-29676-4
.
ISSN
1834-7231
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 12 March 2011
. Retrieved
6 September
2010
.
- ^
"Navy Marks 109th Birthday With Historic Changes To Battle Honours"
. Royal Australian Navy. 1 March 2010. Archived from
the original
on 13 June 2011
. Retrieved
23 December
2012
.
- ^
"Royal Australian Navy Ship/Unit Battle Honours"
(PDF)
. Royal Australian Navy. 1 March 2010. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 14 June 2011
. Retrieved
23 December
2012
.
- ^
"Participating Warships"
.
International Fleet Review 2013 website
. Royal Australian Navy. 2013. Archived from
the original
on 10 December 2013
. Retrieved
14 December
2015
.
- ^
"Australian Navy Delivers Supplies to Solomon Islands"
.
Naval Today
. 18 September 2014
. Retrieved
27 September
2014
.
- ^
a
b
Staples, Natalie (20 November 2014).
"Final farewell for landing craft"
.
Navy Daily
. Royal Australian Navy
. Retrieved
20 November
2014
.
- ^
Broadhead, Graeme (14 January 2015).
"HMAS Labuan's link to Ballina acknowledged"
.
The Northern Star
.
APN News & Media
. Retrieved
15 January
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Defence Minister welcomes the commissioning of HMPNGS Lakekamu"
.
Media release
. Senator David Johnston. 4 December 2014. Archived from
the original
on 15 February 2015
. Retrieved
4 December
2014
.
- ^
"Navy honours river's role in war"
.
The National
. 11 December 2017
. Retrieved
9 July
2018
.
During the commissioning of the HMPNGS Lakekamu last week, Defence Force Chief of Operation Colonel Siale Diro said Gulf, Lakekamu and the defence force were connected by history.
- ^
"Labuan lives on through Lakekamu"
.
Navy Daily
. Royal Australian Navy. 16 January 2018
. Retrieved
3 February
2018
.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Books
- Journal articles
- Swinden, Greg (April 2013). "Heavy Lifting for Four Decades: The Navy's Landing Craft Heavy".
The Navy
.
75
(2). Navy League of Australia: 20?24.
ISSN
1322-6231
.