HMAS Sirius rendezvoused with HMA Ships Arunta and Stuart to re-form Australian Navy’s Task Group 627.3 and conduct a replenishment at sea.
HMAS Sirius exercised some vital maritime communication and safety procedures recently off Vietnam, undertaking a passage exercise with Vietnamese People’s Navy ship HQ-275.
The ships practised the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, known as CUES. The code was endorsed by the members of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium in April 2014 and is a coordinated means of communication to maximise safety and reduce uncertainty when naval units encounter one another.
Immediately following the passage exercise, Sirius rendezvoused with HMA Ships Arunta and Stuart to reform Task Group 627.3 for the latter part of their Asian deployments.
Arunta and Stuart had been in company with French Navy Ship Vendemiare and after the seagoing meeting, commenced a dual Replenishment at Sea.
Task Group 627.3 sailed from Australia in late August. By the time the units return to Australia they will have collectively visited 10 countries: India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia; notably conducting a individual passage exercises with each nation.
Image: Australian Navy