Hmas-Adelaide

The problems that led to the power outage aboard the HMAS 'Adelaide' twice on Jan 28 while providing aid to Tonga may have been caused by volcanic ash, defence officials have revealed. Emergency power was restored within a matter of hours, but a second power failure occurred a day later. The first failure was the result of the diesel generator failing, and the second because of a gas turbine. A wider technical investigation is still underway. The head of maritime systems at the defence department said the ash in the air and water after the volcanic eruption could have affected the ship's seawater cooling system. The navy had never sailed into such an environment involving a volcanic eruption. The seawater cooling became blocked because of the ash and the rock in the water and that has caused the seawater cooling to overheat which has caused the diesel generations to go into shutdown. A sensor defect with the emergency diesel generation where the generator thought it was over-speeding subsequently followed. The exact nature of the faults remain part of an ongoing investigation but confirmed the faults didn't come down to a single point.

The Australian naval ship HMAS 'Adelaide' which had been supplying critical aid to tsunami-ravaged Tonga has suffered a major power outage during the operation on Jan 31, 2022. Back-up power had been activated aboard the vessel to restore essential systems. The ship departed from Brisbane and arrived in Tonga last week, carrying critical relief including medical and humanitarian supplies as well as helicopters, following the underwater volcanic eruption and tsunami on Jan 15. Civilian specialists were en route to conduct an assessment of the affected systems of the vessel. The Defence Department has denied reports that the ship was being towed or that systems such as air conditioning, sanitation and refrigeration were down due to the outage.

The Royal Australian Navy has received on Dec. 4 from the Commonwealth of Australia, the HMAS Adelaide, second of the ships built by Navantia and based on the Spanish Navy LHD “Juan Carlos I”. Together with the HMAS Canberra, commissioned in November 2014, this ship provides new capabilities to the RAN, in the force projection as well as in the support to allies and neighboring countries in humanitarian missions, Navantia said in its press release. This milestone, that took place in Sydney, was represented by Navantia, including the President, José Manuel Revuelta and part of the responsible team for activities prior to the commissioning. The President highlighted the importance of this moment for Navantia and the strong laces with the Australian defense industries and other organizations. The event was also attended by the Ambassador for Spain, Manuel Cacho, and the Director of Navantia Australia, Francisco Barón. The ship, contracted in 2007, was 85% built in Navantia Ferrol shipyards, and completed in Australia by BAE Systems. She was transported to Australia in December 2013 and accepted by the Commonwealth of Australia, last 22nd. October. The construction of these ships has permitted Navantia to be part of the specialized market of this type of ships, which design has also recently been selected by the Turkish Navy, and another milestone of collaboration between Navantia and the Australian Government.