HMAS Jervis Bay (rear) with HMAS Perth in 1992 |
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| Career (Australia) | |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Jervis Bay |
| Builder: | State Dockyard, Newcastle |
| Laid down: | 18 August 1967 |
| Launched: | 17 February 1969 |
| Acquired: | 28 January 1977 |
| Commissioned: | 25 August 1977 |
| Decommissioned: | 18 April 1994 |
| Renamed: | MS Australian Trader (1969-1977) HMAS Jervis Bay (1977-1995) MS Agios Andreas (1995-2003) MS Ajman Leader (2003-2004) MS Ajman City (2004) |
| Motto: | "Strive Valiantly" |
| Fate: | Sold into civilian service Scraped in September 2004 |
| Badge: | |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Converted roll-on/roll-off ferry |
| Displacement: | 8,915 tons |
| Length: | 135.6 m (445 ft) |
| Beam: | 21.5 m (71 ft) |
| Draught: | 6.09 m (20.0 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 2 x Pielstick 16PC 2V400 Diesels, 6,500 hp; 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph) |
| Complement: | 108, plus up to 40 trainees |
HMAS Jervis Bay (GT 203) was a roll-on/roll-off passenger and vehicle ferry operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1977 and 1994. Built during the late 1960s as the Australian National Line vessel Australian Trader, the ship was leased to the RAN in 1977 for use as a training ship and troop transport. After decommissioning in 1994, the vessel was sold into civilian service and operated in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf before being scrapped in 2004.
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The vessel was built as Australian Trader for the Australian National Line (ANL) by New South Wales State Dockyard in Newcastle, New South Wales.[1] The vessel had a displacement of 8,770 tonnes (8,630 long tons; 9,670 short tons) at standard load and 8,195 tonnes (8,066 long tons; 9,033 short tons) at full load, a length of 445 feet (136 m) overall, a beam of 70.5 feet (21.5 m), and a draught of 20 feet (6.1 m).[1] Australian Trader was propelled by two 16 PC 2V400 Pielstick diesels, which supplied 6,500 shaft horsepower (4,800 kW) to the vessel's two propeller shafts, and allowed her to reach 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph).[1] The ship was also fitted with a bow thruster.[1] A stern door allowed for the embarking and disembarking of vehicles.[1] Australian Trader laid down on 18 August 1967, launched on 17 February 1969, and was completed on 17 June 1969.[2][3]
The ship was used by ANL as a cross-Bass Strait ferry.
Starting on 6 October 1976, the RAN began to show interest in acquiring Australian Trader, for use as a training ship and troop transport.[1] Australian Trader was marked by ANL as surplus in November 1976, and was sold to the RAN for $5.07 million.[1] The ship was handed over to the RAN on 28 January 1977, and began $720,000 worth of modifications for naval service, which included the installation of a new navigation bridge and the refitting of some passenger cabins into classrooms.[1] The vessel was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Jervis Bay on 25 August.[2] Modification was not completed until January 1978.[1] Jervis Bay replaced the destroyer HMAS Duchess in the training role, with Duchess decommissioning in October 1977.[4]
Jervis Bay's primary role was to facilitate the seamanship and navigation training of officer cadets, with logistic transport of Australian Army soldiers and equipment seen as a back-up capability.[1] In RAN service, the ship's company consisted of 14 officers and 163 sailors, with up to 76 trainees embarked at any time.[3] The ship did not carry any fitted weapons, and relied on small arms for defence.[1] The vessel's first training cruise occurred in February 1978.[1] In December 1980, trials to mate Jervis Bay with the landing craft HMAS Balikpapan were successfully performed in Sydney Harbour.[1] In 1987, the deckhouse was removed, and the ship's aft deck was strengthened to allow a single Sea King or similar helicopter; more extensive plans to allow the embarkation of a flight of six helicopters were shelved.[3]
Jervis Bay paid off on 18 April 1994, and was sold on 7 December 1994[5] to the Greek company Med Link Lines, which renamed the ship MS Agios Andreas and operated her as a passenger ferry in the Mediterranean. She was sold in 2003 to Ajman lines renamed MS Ajman Leader and operated in the Persian Gulf out of Dubai. She was sold in 2004 for scrap, and renamed MS Ajman City for the delivery voyage to Alang, India. She arrived at Alang in September 2004, where she was pulled up the beach and scrapped.
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