Australian Navy HMAS Gascoyne Huon-class minehunter ship returns to sea after readiness evaluation.

According to information released by the Australian Navy on September 7, 2020, the Australian Navy HMAS Gascoyne Huon-class minehunter ship has recently completed her unit readiness evaluation in Jervis Bay, living up to her motto and ‘returning to the sea’.
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HMAS Gascoyne departing HMAS Waterhen to conduct workups as part of her Unit Readiness Evaluation. (Picture source Australian Navy)

The unit readiness evaluation was a culmination of a long period of preparations, training and assessments for Gascoyne’s crew, many of whom deployed on Operation COVID-19 ASSIST earlier in the year. Gascoyne has proven herself against the full spectrum of maritime operations, including general seamanship, navigation, damage control, as well as testing her mine-hunting capabilities.

Supported by the Australian Navy’s Sea Training Group, realistic scenarios have allowed the crew to test themselves and their skills to ensure they remain ready to fight and win at sea.

The HMAS Gascoyne is one of the Navy’s four Huon Class Mine Hunter Coastal ships and features a unique hull design for increased shock resistance and an inherently low magnetic signature, they are also fitted with a variety of mine hunting capabilities including their two remotely controlled Bofors SUTEC Double Eagle II mine disposal vehicles

Australian Navy HMAS Gascoyne (II) is the fourth of the six Huon Class Minehunters (MHC). She was launched on11 March 2000 and is based in Sydney at HMAS Waterhen. A large minehunter by world standards, the 720 tonne, 52.5 meter MHC is propelled by a V8 diesel engine driving a controllable pitch propeller in transit, and three retractable thrusters while minehunting.

For minehunting operations, Gascoyne uses three 120 horsepower (89 kW) Riva Calzoni azimuth thrusters to provide a maximum speed of 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph): two are located at the stern, while the third is sited behind the variable-depth sonar. Mines are located with the minehunting sonar and can be disposed of by the vessel's two Double Eagle mine disposal vehicles, the Oropesa mechanical sweep, the Mini-Dyad magnetic influence sweep, or the towed AMASS influence sweep (which is not always carried). To prevent damage if a mine is detonated nearby, the ships were built with glass-reinforced plastic, molded in a single monocoque skin with no ribs or framework. As the ships often work with clearance divers, they are fitted with a small recompression chamber.

The main armament of the ship consists of one 30 mm DS30B rapid-fire cannon and two 0.50 caliber machine guns