The Navy Vol_49_Part1 1987 - Navy League of Australia

+••Mp1 £MINEHUNTER HMASRUSHCUTTER COMMISSIONSTIE first of the new BAY class revolutionary minehunter catamarans being built for the RoyalAustralian Navy by Carrington Slipways of Tomago, NSW, was commissioned into navalservice at a ceremony held at the firm's Fibreglass facility on Saturday, November 1.RUSHCUTTER, and her sister ship, SHOALWATER, which is at an advanced stage ofconstruction, will be the first minehunters to join the RAN since HMAS CURLEW was convertedfrom a minesweeper to a minehunter in 1968.With the commissioning of RUSHCUTTER, the RAN will advance itsminewarfare technology from 1950s capabilities to the latest state of art.The Navy's mine counter measures force had been allowed to run downover thy past decade, and the recent Dlbb report highlighted the lack olminewarfare capability as the maior shortcoming in the present Naval forcestructureWhen Carrington Slipways was awarded the contract to build the twoprototype minehunters. a purpose designed Minehunter fjcilily wasconstructed on a three hectare site on the northern bank of the HunterRiver The facility is air-conditioned and environmentally controlled toensure that optimum conditions are maintained for GRP lamination andcuring A dust and styrene extraction system is also provided to ensure aclean working environmentConstruction of RUSHCUTTER started in May 1984. and many newtechniques and technological advances were incorporated in the buildingof the vessel For example, the weight of the GRP used is computercontrolled, and allows a constant amount of resin to be applied to eachindividual section Can-ington Slipways also developed in conjunction withAC!, a method of combining ? chopped strand mat with a woven roving tospeed up the construction time This has resulted in the second vessel.SHOALWATER. being built in a shorter time than RUSHCUTTERTHE minehunters were designed by naval architects in Navy Office.Canberra, and include many unique features which make thempotential export dollar earners The catamaran-shaped hullminimises the draught so that it can operate in very shallow and restrictedwaters and, combined with the Schottel propulsion units which rotatethrough 360°. makes the vessel very manoeuvreable and capable ofminehunting amongst shipping in a crowded anchorage All mainmachinery is located above the water line and the magnetic and acousticcharacteristics are minimisedThe Krupp Atlas Elektronik minehunting system fitted is fully computerisedand can be operated by only two personnel This combined withother modem technological advances allows a complement of only 13 ,personal to man lb. vessel, a major reduction compared with the larger **«" «•?* m »'««'"S overseas, seeking export orders. Presentations oncomplement, necessary In more conventional minehunters in service with ' hc ues "'" v « ft" * ve " '" several overseas navies and as a resulioversea, navies. Crew numbers are critical lor smaller navies with limited **£>mmt . < * C,B *"""uls "^ *• J * " * " ft*» "? "" ~" M !"« i °"manpower, a, they cannot afford ships that are manpower Intensive ,h ? d, and *>"' !? , ! " '"RUSHCUTTER during shipbuilders trialsAs a result ol these features, considerable Interest has been expressed The Department of Defence ha, actively supported Carrington Slipwaysby both Middle East and Fa, East navies and Carrington Slipway, havem " k «''"9 •cMvllkti. and when a team visited the Middle East InNovember, they were accompanied by a senior RAN minewarfare officer,who provided professional and operational expertisePage Four January, 1987January, 1987Page Five