Two of Australia's newest supply vessels of the Supply class have now been decommissioned. According to USNI News, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles confirmed that the second vessel of this type, the Stalwart, cannot perform tasks due to engine defects and joined the main supply ship, Seplay, which has been put into repair since March 2023.
"It is now obvious that the failure of both supply vessels of the Seplay class raises questions about their design," the publication quotes the minister as saying.
Supply vessel Stolwart, Australia
Royal Australian Navy
Marles asked Admiral Mark Hammond, Commander of the Royal Australian Navy, when the Stolwart and the Seplay would return to service and what measures were being taken to ensure that the fleet did not encounter supply problems.
Earlier, last week, ABC News reported that the Stolwart would be delayed in the port of Darwin to eliminate engine defects. The Australian Ministry of Defense informed about the ship's arrival at the port on May 23.
According to Admiral Hammond, the Stolwart encountered engine problems during transit to Darwin, when it had already completed operational assignments and border protection duties. He also said that the navy will conduct a technical investigation into the circumstances of the breakdown, as well as eliminate the defect so that the ship safely reaches its home port in Garden Island and gets up for a maintenance period in Perth.
The Seplay has been undergoing repairs since March 2023 and is expected to return to service no earlier than 2025. The reason for such a long repair of the new vessel is the discovery of a defect in an intermediate shaft element with a length of almost 15 meters and a weight of 21 tons. The problem was associated with alignment violations during the construction of the ship at the Navantia shipyard in Spain. Production coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, and Canberra was unable to send its specialists to monitor and accept the construction stages.
Navantia took responsibility for the defect and promised to repair the shaft under warranty. However, the delivery time will be about 40 weeks.
Recall that the auxiliary vessels of the "Seplay" class were ordered by the Spanish company Navantia in 2016. They replaced the tankers "Saxess" and "Sirius" in the Australian fleet.
The lead ship was laid down at the Navantia shipyard in Ferrol in November 2017 and launched a year later. The timing of the transfer of the vessel to the customer had to be revised due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sea trials of the tanker were completed in August 2020, and in October it arrived in Australia, where the installation of special equipment on board was completed and final tests were completed. The Seplay joined the Australian fleet in the spring of 2021.
The Stolwart was laid down in Spain in November 2018 and launched in August 2019. The ship was transferred to the Australian Navy in September 2021.
The vessels for Australia are based on the Spanish "Cantabria" class transports. The displacement reaches 19,500 tons, the length of the hull is 173.9 meters, the width is 23 meters. Tankers can reach speeds of up to 20 knots and a cruising range of 6,000 nautical miles. The crew consists of 122 people.
Each vessel is capable of carrying 1,450 cubic meters of aviation 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 is provided on board.
In addition to resupplying ships and vessels of the Australian Navy, Seplay and Stolwart can participate in the fight against pollution at sea, as well as provide support in humanitarian operations and in the event of natural disasters.
