HMAS Moresby (1963)
| Career (Australia (RAN)) |  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Explorer Captain John Moresby |
| Builder: | State Dockyard Newcastle |
| Laid down: | May 1962 |
| Launched: | 7 September 1963 |
| Commissioned: | 6 March 1964 |
| Decommissioned: | 1998 |
| Renamed: | MV Patricia Anne Hotung (1999) |
| Motto: | "With Science and Vision" |
| Fate: | Sold September 1999 as humanitarian ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Survey ship |
| Displacement: | 2,340 tonnes |
| Length: | 95.7 metres (314 ft) |
| Beam: | 12.8 metres (42 ft) |
| Draught: | 3.81 metres (12.5 ft) mean |
| Propulsion: | Diesel Electric, three English Electric diesel engines, 2 electric motors, 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h) |
| Range: | 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km) |
| Boats and landing craft carried: | 3 x 34-foot (10 m) Survey Motor Boats |
| Capacity: | 372 tons oil fuel |
| Complement: | 146 |
| Sensors and processing systems: | TM 829 radar, Lambda position fixing system, Simrad SU2 sonar, echo sounders, magnetometer |
| Armament: | 2x 40 mm Bofors guns (removed 1973) |
| Aircraft carried: |
Westland Scout (1964-1973) Bell 206B-1 Kiowa (1973) |
HMAS Moresby, named for the explorer Captain John Moresby, was a hydrographic survey ship of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Serving in the RAN from 1964 to 1999, Moresby was then sold into civilian service. Renamed MV Patricia Anne Hotung, the ship was chartered by the International Organisation for Migration.
Construction
Moresby was launched at the State Dockyard, Newcastle on 7 September 1963 by the wife of Rear Admiral Gatacre. She was commissioned into the RAN on 6 March 1964.[1]
Operational history
Throughout her career in the RAN, Moresby sailed over 1 million miles, and carried out surveys of Torres Strait, the D’Entrecasteaux Channel in Tasmania, Exmouth Gulf, Wilsons Promontory and the Gulf of Papua.[2]
Decommissioning and civilian service
In September 1999 Moresby was sold to Chinese business interests and renamed MV Patricia Anne Hotung,[3] after the wife of chairman of Hotung Institute of International Affairs Mr Eric Hotung. Mr Hotung reportedly spent over A$1 million on a refit enabling the 95-metre (312 ft) ship to carry 850 passengers[4]
Patricia Anne Hotung was chartered by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and transported approximately 10,000 refugees from the West Timor camps to East Timor between January 2000 and 24 July 2001. IOM Director General Brunson McKinley described the ship's role as "invaluable" and "a remarkable contribution to the international humanitarian effort to bring East Timorese refugees home to begin rebuilding their devastated country"[5]
References
- ↑ Straczek, John. The Royal Australian Navy: Ships, Aircraft and Shore Establishments, Navy Public Affairs, Sydney, 1996. ISBN 1-876-04378-4
- ↑ Bastock, John. Australia’s ships of war, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1975. ISBN 0-207-12927-4
- ↑ "Moresby now a mercy vessel, Navy News, 24 January, 2000". http://www.defence.gov.au/news/navynews/editions/2000/01_24_00/story08.htm.
- ↑ "Maritime Engineers Pty Ltd". http://www.maritime-engineers.com.au/project-management.htm.
- ↑ "IOM Press Briefing Notes 24 Jul 2001: West Timor. Retrieved 15 January 2007". http://lists.topica.com/lists/east-timor@igc.topica.com/read/message.html?sort=d&mid=800422640.
