01 May 2017

News Story: LHDs remain alongside as Defence investigates propulsion issues

The Navy’s two amphibious assault ships HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide remain tied alongside at Fleet Base East, Sydney while Defence investigates issues with the LHDs’ ‘azipod’ azimuth propulsion systems.

The issue first came to public attention almost a month ago on March 29 when ABC defence reporter Andrew Green reported that both vessels were out of service after propulsion issues were discovered with HMAS Canberra while it was undertaking first of class flight trials with Army and Navy helicopters off the coast of Queensland in March.

“During these activities, a propulsion issue was identified aboard HMAS Canberra and she is currently alongside in Sydney being inspected,” Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Tim Barrett wrote on the Defence website on March 28.

“As a prudent measure, the same inspections were conducted on HMAS Adelaide and identified emergent issues.

“Having identified these emergent issues the ADF has put in place a very deliberate plan to investigate the issue and resolve it.”

However, the issues with the azipod systems remain unresolved, with an April 25 news story in the Daily Telegraph by Matthew Benns reporting that “an investigation found maintenance and oil changes were not being done properly”.

This assertion was disputed by Deputy Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Michael Noonan, who wrote a clarifying “On the Record” statement subsequently posted on the Navy Daily website.

Read the full story at ADBR