DEFENCE CONNECT; 11th November 2024 : On 6th November, Royal Australian Navy Huon Class mine hunter vessel HMAS Gascoyne (II) has made its final entry into Sydney Harbour as it prepares for decommissioning next month. HMAS Gascoyne (II) is scheduled to be retired  during a decommissioning ceremony to be held at HMAS Waterhen in Sydney on Thursday, 5 December.  Gascoyne has provided 23 years of faithful service to the Royal Australian Navy.

HMAS Gascoyne II makes its final entry into Sydney Harbour prior to decommissioning, Photo LSIS Daniel Goodman

As she sailed through the harbour, she was met with a warm farewell, reflecting appreciation for her long-standing role and many completed missions. HMAS Gascoyne (II) was originally commissioned in June 2001 as the fourth of six Huon Class mine hunter coastal vessels. The ship features a unique hull design, shock resistance and an inherently low magnetic signature to allow operation in hostile mine environments. She is the second RAN ship to carry the name. HMAS Gascoyne (I) was Australia’s first River Class anti-submarine frigate and it served with distinction during World War II.

For mine countermeasure operations, the Huon Class were fitted with a variable depth sonar capable of detection ranges in excess of 1,000 metres ahead of the ship. When a mine is detected in a water column or on the seabed, the ship “hovers” about 200 metres from the contact. Mine disposal vehicles or clearance divers are then deployed to investigate and neutralise the mine threat.

Each ship is fitted with a pair of electrically powered Bofors Underwater Systems Double Eagle mine disposal vehicles equipped with a searchlight, closed-circuit low light television camera and an on-board close range identification sonar. Commands are relayed via a fibre optic link inside the vehicle’s tether, which also relays sensor images for display on the ship’s multifunction console in the operations room. Each Double Eagle vehicle is fitted with either a disposal charge slung beneath or an explosive or mechanical cutter designed to sever the wire rope or chain holding moored mines.