10 February 2011
For immediate release
Australian Navy ships conduct hydro surveys
at Caution Bay
Port Moresby’s Caution Bay will host three Royal Australian Navy (RAN) hydrographic ships over the next two months.
HMAS Leeuwin (pictured) will be the first to arrive this Saturday, entering Port Moresby harbour for routine immigrations and customs clearance. It will then head out to the waters off Caution Bay, where later next week it will be joined by its sister ships, the HMAS Melville and the HMAS Shepparton.
The ships are here at the invitation of PNG’s Chief of Hydrography, Mr Joseph Kunda, to survey the sea floor in the approaches to the LNG plant that is being built nearby on-shore. The surveys form part of the RAN’s ‘Hydroscheme’, an Australian program that has seen charting and surveying being undertaken in and around PNG’s waters over the last 20 years.
For this year’s Caution Bay task, the RAN consulted with PNG’s Chief Hydrographer, as well as the PNG National Safety Maritime Authority (NMSA). The annual RAN/NMSA meeting held in June 2009 raised the task, and it was later confirmed in June of last year. The Caution Bay survey is NMSA’s highest priority due to the importance of the PNG LNG project to the country.
Head of Australian Defence Staff in Papua New Guinea, Colonel Mark Shephard, said that later this decade, large LNG ships will navigate through Caution Bay in order to dock at the LNG plant. “Accurate charting will ensure the safety of the ships as they approach the plant and depart PNG with their valuable cargo. The survey work being undertaken by these three ships, the HMAS Leeuwin, Melville and Shepparton is fundamental to the success and safety of the project” he said.
“Residents will soon notice Australian navy ships in Port Moresby and off Caution Bay over the next two months. Residents should not be alarmed as these hydrographic surveys are occurring with the full knowledge and support of PNG authorities,” said Colonel Shephard.