TSAMTO, November 18. The Command of the Australian Navy has adopted the second AOR (auxiliary oiler and replacement ship) of the Supply class, (A304) "Stalworth", built by Navantia.
As planned, the home port (A304) "Stalworth" will be the naval base "Perth" (Western Australia).
As reported by TSAMTO, in May 2016, following the results of the tender, the Australian government signed a contract with the Spanish company Navantia for the construction of two marine supply transports within the framework of the SEA-1654 Phase-3 project. The contract value was 642 million Austr. dollars (477 million US dollars). The construction of the ships was carried out in Spain on the basis of the project of the 19500-ton universal supply transport "Cantabria".
The ships are designed to transport fuel, dry cargo, water, food, ammunition, equipment and spare parts to supply warships at sea. In addition, the vessels can be used to combat environmental pollution, material support for troops and support humanitarian aid operations.
The steel cutting ceremony for the construction of the lead vessel, "Seplay", was held on June 19, 2017. The ship joined the Australian Navy in April 2021.
The steel cutting ceremony for the second transport, (A304) "Stalworth", took place on April 4, 2018, the keel laying took place on November 24, 2018, and the launching took place on August 30, 2019. The ship arrived in Perth on June 21, 2021. The acceptance certificate was signed by the Australian Ministry of Defense on August 30, 2021 after the tests were completed.
The length of the transport is 173.8 m, width - 23 m, draft - 8 m, total displacement - 19500 tons. The vessel is equipped with two MAN 18V 32/40 engines and four MAN 7L21/31 generators. The maximum speed is 20 knots, the cruising range is 6000 nautical miles at a speed of 13 knots, the standard crew is 130 people (maximum capacity is 196 people). The vessel is designed to carry 1,450 cubic meters of JP5 jet fuel, 8,200 cubic meters of diesel fuel, 1,400 cubic meters of fresh water, 270 tons of ammunition and 470 tons of food. One helicopter can be accommodated on board.
As part of the Australian Navy, two new vessels will replace the 18,221-ton supply transport OR-304 Success, which was decommissioned in June 2019, as well as the tanker O-266 Sirius (a South Korean-built vessel acquired in 2004), which is scheduled to be decommissioned in December 2021.
