After almost 35 years of dedicated service, the Royal Australian Navy’s humanitarian aid and disaster relief ship, HMAS Tobruk, was decommissioned at her homeport of Garden Island, in Sydney, on July 31.
The ship’s Commanding Officer, Commander Leif Maxfield, accepted the Australian White Ensign, which was lowered for the last time, folded, and handed to him at the ceremony in a mark of tradition.
In the past decade alone, Tobruk has provided humanitarian relief to Operations SAMOA ASSIST, YASI ASSIST, PHILIPPINES ASSIST and PACIFIC ASSIST 2015.
Tobruk was designed for combined Navy and Army amphibious operations. The ship is a multi-purpose troop and roll-on/roll-off, heavy vehicle carrier and includes facilities for bow and stern loading, beaching, a drive-through capacity and inter-deck transfers via ramps.
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Image: Australian Navy