 HMASSirius in July 2013 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Name | Sirius |
| Namesake | HMS Sirius Flagship of theFirst Fleet |
| Builder | Hyundai Mipo Dockyard |
| Yard number | 228 |
| Laid down | 19 January 2004 |
| Launched | 12 April 2004 |
| Acquired | 3 June 2004 |
| Commissioned | 16 September 2006 |
| Decommissioned | 18 December 2021 |
| Renamed | MTDelos (during construction) |
| Home port | Fleet Base West, Perth |
| Identification | |
| Motto | To Serve and Provide |
| Fate | Scrapped atHenderson in 2022 |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Fleetreplenishment vessel |
| Displacement | 46,755 tonnes (full load) |
| Length | 191.3 m (627 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 32 m (105 ft 0 in) |
| Draught | 11 m (36 ft 1 in) |
| Propulsion | 1 × Hyundai B&W6S50MC, 1 × shaft |
| Speed | 16.5knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
| Range | 16,000 nmi (30,000 km; 18,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
| Complement | 8 officers, 46 sailors |
| Armament | 5 × 12.7 mm machine guns |
| Aviation facilities | Helicopter deck, no hangar facilities |
HMASSirius (O 266) (formerlyMTDelos) was a commercial tanker purchased by theRoyal Australian Navy and converted into afleet replenishment vessel to replaceHMAS Westralia. She was named in honour ofHMS Sirius of theFirst Fleet. Launched in South Korea on 2004, and converted in Western Australia,Sirius was commissioned in 2006; three years before a purpose-built vessel would have been built, and at half the cost. The tanker was decommissioned in 2021 and subsequently scrapped.
Delos was built atHyundai Mipo Dockyard inSouth Korea.[1] Another five ships were built to the same design, all for civilian service.[2] She waslaunched on 12 April 2004, and was purchased by the Australian Government on 3 June 2004 and handed over from Hyundai on 16 June 2004, with the intention of modifying her as a replacement forHMAS Westralia for theRoyal Australian Navy (RAN).[1][3][4]Delos was leased (bareboat charter) to Teekay Shipping for operation as a commercial oil tanker until September 2005, then was taken up byTenix Defence (which had been awarded the A$60 million conversion contract on 15 March 2005) for conversion into a replenishment vessel, which was completed 5 weeks ahead of schedule.[3][4]Sirius wascommissioned into the RAN on 16 September 2006, in a ceremony that includedWestralia's decommissioning.[5] While HMASSirius is the first ship of this name to serve as part of the RAN, she is named afterHMS Sirius, theflagship of theFirst Fleet of British convicts sent to Australia in 1788.[1]
Sirius had a full loaddisplacement of 46,775 tonnes, is 191.3 metres (627 ft 7 in) in length, with abeam of 32 metres (105 ft 0 in) and adraught of 11 metres (36 ft 1 in).[1] Propulsion machinery consisted of a single propeller shaft driven by a single Hyundai B&W 6S 50MCdiesel engine, supplemented by abow thruster.[3] Top speed was 16.5knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph), and the ship had a range of 16,000nautical miles (30,000 km; 18,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph).[3]Sirius could carry up to 34,806 cubic metres (1,229,200 cu ft) of fuel, including 5,486 cubic metres (193,700 cu ft) of helicopteraviation fuel, plus 240 tonnes of dry stores carried in a container deck designed for twelve 20-foot (6.1 m)intermodal containers.[1][3][4] Modifications by Tenix included the fitting of two replenishment points (one on each side, allowing the underway replenishment of two ships simultaneously), installation of ahelicopter deck aft of thesuperstructure, fitting of the container deck, addition of two 70-manlifeboats and tworigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) (the latter sourced fromWestralia), and modification of the internal layout and equipment to bring it to naval standards.[1][4]Sirius was armed with five 12.7-millimetre (0.50 in) machine guns for self defence.[1] The ship's company included 8 officers and 46 sailors.[3]
Originally, the RAN planned to have a ship specially constructed for the role.[6] The decision to instead purchase an under-construction civilian tanker and modify her for military service allowedSirius to enter service three years before originally planned, at half the acquisition project's planned cost.[6]
On the morning of 13 March 2009,Sirius was one of seventeen warships involved in a ceremonial fleet entry and fleet review inSydney Harbour, the largest collection of RAN ships since theAustralian Bicentenary in 1988.[7]Sirius did not participate in the fleet entry, but was anchored in the harbour for the review.
In 2010,Sirius was approved to carry and deployboarding parties.[2] This capability was tested during Exercise Kakadu 10, along with the ship's first ever dual replenishment.[2]
Sirius was forced to turn back en route to theRIMPAC 2010exercise in Hawaii due to problems with her engine, and did not participate in the exercise as a result.[8]
The tanker completed a six-month maintenance period in Sydney on 16 September 2014; she spent five months of this period out of the water in theCaptain Cook Graving Dock.[9]
HMASSirius joinedHMAS Stuart,KDB Darulehsan,USS Rafael Peralta andRSS Supreme on their way toPearl Harbor, Hawaii in preparation for RIMPAC 2020 on 6 August 2020. RIMPAC 2020 began on 17 August.[10]
Sirius was originally expected to remain in service for approximately 15 years.[2] In 2012, the ship was predicted to remain in service until the early 2020s.[11] The 2013 Defence White Paper stated that the replacement ofSirius andHMAS Success would be brought forward.[12] As well as building replacement vessels (either in Australia, overseas, or a combination), leasing existing vessels was also to be considered.[12]
In June 2014, the Minister for Defence announced that two companies had been invited to a restricted tender competition.[13] Spanish shipbuilderNavantia is offering theCantabria design, while South Korea'sDSME is proposing the downsized Aegir variant of theTide-class tanker.[13][14] The 20,000+ tonne ships will be built overseas, as they will be too large to build in Australian shipyards.[13] Australia considered the design for their replacement tankers, with Navantia competing against the Aegir variant of the Tide-class tanker built by South Korea's DSME in a restricted tender competition. Navantia's proposal based onCantabria was announced as the successful design in the Australian tender in March 2016, with an expected in service date for the first of twoSupply-class replenishment oilers in late 2020.[15] The ship wascommissioned on 10 April 2021 at Fleet Base East,Sydney.[16]
In September 2021Sirius embarked on her final deployment to South-East Asia and the south-west Pacific prior to her decommissioning in December 2021.[17] She was decommissioned at a ceremony at HMASStirling on 18 December 2021.[18]
