Members of Australian Navy’s HMAS Melbourne’s boarding team recently conducted fast rope training in the Eastern Australian Exercise Area as part of Melbourne’s Unit Readiness work-up.
For some, the mere thought of hanging from a rope underneath a helicopter that is hovering 20 meters above a moving ship is terrifying but for the team it’s just another day at the office.
Fast-roping is a high risk evolution, where members on the ship’s boarding team descend to the deck of the ship by sliding down a thick rope, using their feet for friction – like a fireman. Comprehensive training equips personnel with the necessary skills and confidence to be competent in this capability.
Fast-roping is a fast and efficient manner to insert a boarding team onto a vessel which is some distance from the warship or when the sea state precludes inserting the team by seaboat.
HMAS Melbourne recently completed her Unit Readiness Evaluation and received standard achieved in all areas. The ship is scheduled to undertake a maintenance period before preparing for a possible operational deployment in the second half of 2015.
Image: Australian Navy