The fleet replenishment ship ‘Cantabria’ has set sail to participate in a three-week training exercise with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) frigate ‘Stuart’ and the New Zeeland Navy frigate ‘Te Mana’ in east-Australian waters.
This time the ‘Cantabria’ embarked an Air Unit made up of two AS350BA ‘Squirrel’ helicopters and 26 people from the 723 RAN Squadron. The interoperability trials between the ship and the helicopters were successfully carried out on the 20th and 21st of August.
With these maneuvers the Spanish ship commences the final stage of her deployment in Australia after the scheduled maintenance period in Garden Island Naval Base.
During this month the ‘Cantabria’ has carried out a series of maintenance works of systems and equipment, while accomplishing an intense program of institutional and PR activities with different members of the Spanish community in Sydney, and with the Australian people who wanted to visit the ship.
Forthcoming activities
The ‘Cantabria’ will take this opportunity to fully integrate the newly arrived personnel who embarked during the first fortnight of August. The Agreement signed between the RAN and the Spanish Navy envisaged crew rotations with summer leaves at home. The current ship’s complement is 144 people.
Once the present training concludes, the ‘Cantabria’ will participate in the multinational exercise ‘Triton Centenary 13’ and the International Fleet Review in October.
[mappress] Press Release, September 06, 2013; Image: Spanish Navy