The Australian Navy’s replenishment oiler HMAS Sirius has kept a watchful eye over the recent period on the North West Shelf Oil and Gas Fields, providing overt security presence in the strategically important area for Australia.
The patrol was conducted under the umbrella of the RED RAPTOR exercise enabling the Royal Australian Navy’s ships to test communications, procedures and protocols between offshore oil and gas platforms and installations and defence assets. It paved the way for engineering evolutions and training, necessary to maintain a high level of operational capability.
The crew of HMAS Sirius performed many security checks on the platforms and engaged with their operators to better understand the ongoing security challenges in the region.
Since the end of last year, the home to oil and gas platforms has been safeguarded by twelve of the Navy’s ships, including Armidale Class Patrol Boat HMAS Albany.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, February 13, 2014; Image: Australian Navy