HMAS Stuart Marks Start of KAKADU Sea Phase

Over the weekend, the ship’s company of HMAS Stuart, weighed anchor to mark the start of the sea phases of Exercise KAKADU 2014.

Stuart led the ‘Red Force’ Task Group 628.2 out of Darwin Harbour, before conducting Officer of the Watch Manoeuvres with members of the Command Task Group.

HMA Ships Arunta and Newcastle, sailed with Pakistan Navy ships PNS Nasr and PNS Saif, to join Stuart in the manoeuvres.

Commander Aaron Nye, Red Force Task Group Commander and Commanding Officer of Stuart, oversaw the execution of the manoeuvres.

Stuart is also conducting personnel transfers between the ship’s company of both Pakistan Navy Ships Saif and Nasr.

Each day of the exercise a number of sailors and officers from both the Royal Australian Navy and Pakistan Navy will cross deck.

Sub-Lieutenant Rory Lea-McLaren spent the day in a Pakistan Navy ship.

Visiting Pakistan sailors Leading Seaman Mahmood and Leading Seaman Ahafeez also had the opportunity to witness a Damage Control Exercise onboard Stuart.

The ship ran a simulated missile hit, which resulted in a fire in a main machinery space and a flood in an accommodation space.

Ship’s company responded to the event with the forward repair base tackling the fire while the aft repair base contained the flood under the direction of Damage Control Central.

As the damage control events were fought on the lower decks, the Operations Room and the Commanding Officer continued to engage in the tactical picture of the war fighting exercise.

KAKADU is the Royal Australian Navy’s largest maritime warfare exercise for the year, occurring in and off the coast of Darwin, from 25 August – 12 September.