28 Febraury 2014

Royal Australian Navy Hydrographical Survey in Bougainville

Two Royal Australian Navy ships will today commence hydrographical surveys of Autonomous Region of Bougainville waters between Buka and Torokina to support Operation Render Safe 2014, to be held in Torokina, Bougainville.

Operation Render Safe, conducted by the Australian Defence Force on behalf of the Australian Government, is a regional program to remove unexploded bombs, weapons and ammunition remaining from World War Two.

Operation Render Safe occurs regularly in the South West Pacific. The most recent Operations removed explosive remnants of war from Solomon Islands in 2013, and from Rabaul, Papua New Guinea in 2011.

The Australian Government is conducting Operation Render Safe in Torokina in 2014 at the request of the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG).

The Royal Australian Navy ships HMAS BENALLA and HMAS SHEPPARTON will arrive in Torokina today (28 February). They will sail up and down the coast line to chart the depths of the water, mark any underwater obstructions and determine suitable anchorage points for ships involved in Operation Render Safe. This will enable safe navigation for ships involved in Operation Render Safe. Survey operations are scheduled to cease on 27 April.

The survey would also include examining the beach at Torokina to determine its capacity to handle equipment moved from ships offshore to onshore locations to support the Operation.

The ships will also travel to Kimbe, West New Britain, and Gizo, Solomon Islands during this time to refuel before continuing survey operations.

Royal Australian Navy Ships will be a feature of Operation Render Safe to move supplies, equipment and personnel between Buka and Torokina.

The survey information would be shared with the PNG National Maritime Safety Authority and the Autonomous Bougainville Government to provide accurate charts of Autonomous Region of Bougainville waters.

More information on Operation Render Safe Fact Sheet.