HMAS

Pirie

(II)

HMAS Pirie (II) was the fifth of 14 Armidale Class Patrol Boats (ACPB) built to serve in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was built by Austal Ships at Henderson, Western Australia, as part of a $553 million contract between the Federal Government and Defence Maritime Services. The Armidale Class vessels continued the legacy of service established by the RAN’s former Attack and Fremantle Class Patrol Boats. The larger, more capable ACPBs were characterised by good seakeeping qualities, improved range and endurance, as well as hosting a state-of-the-art surveillance system. They contributed significantly over two decades to myriad border protection and maritime security operations, both in Australian waters and throughout the south-west Pacific.

HMAS Pirie (II) commissioned in the RAN on 29 July 2006 in Port Pirie, South Australia, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Kim Dunsmore, RAN. Among the nearly 250 guests present at the ceremony were 23 veterans of the World War II era corvette, HMAS Pirie (I), the then Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Russ Shalders, AO, CSC, RAN, and as Guest of Honour and Commissioning Lady, Mrs Margaret Humphry. Mrs Humphry’s late father, Lieutenant Jack Ellershaw, RANR, was a member of the commissioning crew of Pirie (I), and was serving as the ship’s gunnery officer when he was killed in action during an attack on the corvette in New Guinea in April 1943.

Following her commissioning, Pirie departed South Australian waters and proceeded to her home-port of Darwin. She arrived alongside HMAS Coonawarra for the first time on 18 August 2006 where she commenced work up exercises and trials.

Pirie, like all the ACPBs, was originally ‘multi-crewed’, with 21 separate crews of 21-29 personnel rotating through the 14 vessels of the class. The crews were divided into four Divisions (Attack, Assail, Ardent and Aware) allowing for ensured crew availability as well as adequate rest and respite between operations. During their non-operational time, crew were either on leave, undergoing training or standing by to act as operational reliefs for other crews. The intent of the multi-crewing concept was to facilitate maximum use of each vessel, while providing for adequate crew rest and balanced work/life commitments.

Pirie’s first crew handover took place on 26 September 2006 with Attack Four (Lieutenant Commander Andrew Lugton, RAN) relieving Assail One (Lieutenant Commander Dunsmore). Two days later on 28 September, while conducting a truncated border protection patrol in the vicinity of Ashmore Island, Pirie boarded her first Foreign Fishing Vessel (FFV). The vessel was found to be illegally fishing within Australian waters, apprehended and subsequently destroyed. The vessel’s crew was escorted to Darwin, where Pirie remained for several weeks.

Pirie returned to sea in late October conducting workup exercises before resuming border protection operations under the auspices of Operation RESOLUTE on 10 November 2006. Border protection would provide the lion’s share of Pirie’s tasking during the boat’s RAN service. Her first full RESOLUTE deployment proved to be an eventful one as the crew (Assail One) conducted several FFV interceptions, most of which were fishing illegally in Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). She completed her patrol on 30 November and spent the remainder of 2006 alongside HMAS Coonawarra in a leave and maintenance period.

HMAS Pirie (II) was the fifth of 14 Armidale Class Patrol Boats built to serve in the Royal Australian Navy.

A class-wide engineering issue saw Pirie remain alongside in Darwin for the beginning of 2007 before the boat sailed for sea trials and workup exercises in early March. Following a successful conclusion to the workup, Pirie undertook several Operation RESOLUTE patrols, before returning to Darwin to allow fuel system modifications and for shaft bearings to be replaced. Pirie then put to sea in late May to resume Operation RESOLUTE tasking. On 1 June Pirie went to the aid of a vessel in distress north-west of the Bonaparte Gulf. A small single catamaran, Jama, was experiencing difficulties in high seas and taking on water. With her mast struck she was immobile. In difficult conditions, Pirie launched a Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) and recovered the vessel’s sole occupant. Due to the high sea state and construction of the vessel, the catamaran could not be towed or safely destroyed, and was subsequently abandoned. Pirie swiftly returned to Darwin, transferring Jama’s yachtsman to Coonawarra before resuming RESOLUTE duties.

On 18 June Pirie participated in Exercise MAKO MOON with members of the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), in the vicinity of Garden Island, Western Australia. This was the first joint exercise involving the SASR and an ACPB, and was considered a success with many of the exercise’s aims being achieved. Following the conclusion of MAKO MOON, Pirie returned to Darwin, briefly visiting the Austal Shipyard in Henderson and Broome en route. The remainder of 2007 saw Pirie undertaking regular Operation RESOLUTE patrols interspersed with logistics and maintenance visits to Darwin.

January 2008 saw Pirie conducting her now familiar routine of Operation RESOLUTE patrols punctuated with regular visits to Darwin for logistics and maintenance. She apprehended a number of vessels illegally fishing within Australia’s EEZ in January and February. The patrol boat departed Darwin on 22 February to participate in an upcoming Fleet Concentration Period (FCP) 08 off the coast of NSW with valuable ‘in company’ time being spent with HMAS Perth (III) en route to Sydney. Following a brief stopover at HMAS Cairns the vessel arrived in Sydney Harbour six days later, conducting her first formation entry into Sydney Harbour in company with HMA Ships Gascoyne and Norman before berthing at HMAS Waterhen. The FCP included 22 RAN vessels participate as well as units from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), and the French Navy. At the conclusion of the FCP, Pirie returned to Darwin to prepare for an upcoming South West Pacific Deployment.

Pirie departed Darwin on 16 April, briefly stopping in Cairns before proceeding in company with HMAS Launceston to Luganville, Vanuatu. The two ships went on to visit Western Samoa, the Cook Islands - where they conducted exercises with the Cook Island Pacific Patrol Boat Te Kukupa - and Tonga. A return visit to Vanuatu was then made before returning to Australia on 26 May. The pair parted ways in Cairns before Pirie resumed passage to Darwin via the Inner Great Barrier Reef and Endeavour Strait.

HMAS Pirie and sister ship HMAS Launceston alongside in Darwin following a deployment to the south-west Pacific, May 2008.

Pirie resumed Operation RESOLUTE tasking in June, during which time she provided assistance to a stricken yacht some 111 nautical miles north-west of Cape Fourcroy. The yacht, Sky Melody, reported that strong winds had blown out her mainsail and that her fuel had become contaminated with sea water causing her engine to stop. On arrival, Pirie despatched a RHIB with engineering personnel embarked who assisted in repairing the engine and fuel system. Pirie then provided Sky Melody with enough clean fuel to reach Darwin, 190 miles to the south-east.

The remainder of 2008 was spent conducting regular Operation RESOLUTE patrols interspersed with routine visits to Darwin. In October the crew were again called upon to respond to a vessel in distress, this time providing assistance to a stricken motor yacht, Tempo, which was reportedly taking on water. A damage control party was transferred to the yacht and after successfully pumping out the flooded bilges and engine room, Tempo was assessed as seaworthy. A number of Pirie’s personnel were left on board Tempo to assist with continuing pumping and damage control efforts while Pirie remained nearby escorting the yacht to Christmas Island. In spite of the best efforts of all concerned, several hours later a large part of Tempo’s bow came away making her unseaworthy. All personnel were subsequently transferred to Pirie and Tempo was cast adrift and reported as a Danger to Navigation. Tempo’s unfortunate crew were then disembarked at Christmas Island.

Early 2009 saw Pirie resume the familiar routine of Operation RESOLUTE patrols and maintenance before undertaking her first deployment to South East Asia. She departed Darwin on 4 April in company with HMAS Success and arrived in Manila Harbour, Philippines, five days later. The pair continued on to Qingdao, China, where they arrived on 19 April to participate in the People’s Liberation Army - Navy (PLA-N) 60th Anniversary International Fleet Review, having conducted passage exercises with Indian navy vessels en route. Ships from 14 nations participated in the review on 23 April with Pirie and Success representing Australia. Pirie’s crew manned the boat’s port side and exchanged ceremonial courtesies with the PLA (N) reviewing ship, in which the then Chinese President Hu Jintao was embarked as the reviewing officer.

Following a combined Anzac Day Dawn Service with the ship’s companies of HMNZ Ships Te Mana and Endeavour on the 25th, Pirie and Success departed Qingdao on the 26th. They then called at Hong Kong and Singapore, conducting passage exercises with the two RNZN vessels en route. Pirie then participated in the International Maritime Defence Exposition 2009 and the Western Pacific Nations Maritime Sea Exercise in May. Upon the conclusion of the exercise Pirie returned to Singapore to conduct the first international ACPB crew handover as Assail Six (Lieutenant Commander Grant Zilko, RAN) took over from Assail One (Lieutenant Commander Matthew Webb, RAN) on 18 May.Pirie departed Singapore for passage to Darwin on the 19th, berthing alongside HMAS Coonawarra five days later.

Crew members of HMAS Success, HMAS Pirie, HMNZS Endeavour and HMNZS Te Mana gathered on the wharf in Qingdao China for an Anzac Day Dawn Service, 25 April 2009. Pirie provided the backdrop.

Pirie participated in the Minor War Vessel Concentration Period 02-09 in June before returning to border protection tasking, with Tactical Support Element (TSE) personnel embarked, for the remainder of the year. This period saw a marked increase in the arrival of Suspected Irregular Entry Vessels (SIEV) and would provide the majority of the boats tasking over the next several years.

Early 2010 found Pirie once again force assigned to Operation RESOLUTE bookending a series of exercises and evaluations in early March. Exercise CASSOWARY, a bilateral exercise aimed at improving maritime security along the shared maritime borders of Australia and Indonesia, provided a break from RESOLUTE duties in May. Pirie departed Darwin in company with her sister ship HMAS Broome on 8 May and arrived in Kupang, Indonesia, two days later. Exercises commenced on 12 May and the following day the participants, Pirie, Broome, KRI Kerapu and KRI Untung Suropati, departed Kupang for Darwin with a number of manoeuvres and serials being conducted en route. The Task Group arrived in Darwin on the 15th where an assessment and ‘hot wash-up’ of the exercise was conducted. The Indonesian ships departed Darwin on 18 May for return to their home port, Surabaya.

HMAS Pirie and Indonesian Navy Ship KRI Kerapu undertaking tactical manoeuvres off the coast of Kupang, Indonesia as part of Exercise CASSOWARY 2010.

In early June Pirie took part in a Minor War Vessel Concentration Period before proceeding north to Dili, East Timor, for the East Timorese Fleet Review, which was being held in conjunction with the naming of two new patrol craft; FDDL Jaco and Betano. Following the review, Pirie berthed in Dili Harbour, where then RAN Chief of Navy (CN), Vice Admiral Russ Crane, and Chief Staff Officer Patrol Boat Group Commander, Commander Darren Grogan, visited the boat. While onboard, CN was presented a birthday cake prepared in Pirie’s galley to celebrate his birthday.

Pirie returned to Darwin on 13 June to undergo maintenance, before conducting a series of high tempo Operation RESOLUTE patrols over the ensuing months, intercepting a number of FFVs and Suspected Illegal Entry Vessels (SIEV).

On the morning of 14 December while operating as Christmas Island Response Vessel, Pirie proceeded to the lee of Christmas Island in poor and deteriorating weather to rectify a faulty mechanical seal on the port stern tube cooling pump. While in the lee, at approximately 10:20am Pirie received a report from Customs Christmas Island that a SIEV had been identified to the north of the island. Pirie made best speed to Flying Fish Cove, battling extremely rough seas and restricted visibility to acquire the vessel later known as SIEV 220. At 10:50 the patrol boat was sent to boarding stations with Pirie assuming the duties of On Scene Commander, while Australian Customs Vessel Triton followed during the approach phase. The inclement weather precluded the launch of the RHIBs so, via a translator embarked in Triton, SIEV 220 was instructed to follow Pirie around to the safer conditions found in the lee of the island. Once it was deemed safe enough to launch a RHIB, members of Pirie’s Boarding Team boarded SIEV 220 which was found to be carrying 11 people. Following delays caused by the difficult weather conditions, the crew and passengers in the SIEV were transferred ashore at Ethel Beach. With only ten minutes remaining until sunset, Pirie was forced to leave a steaming party embarked in SIEV 220 overnight. Pirie remained in close proximity, ready to respond if required.

At 06:05am the following morning, as Pirie was replacing members of the steaming party embarked in SIEV 220, a report was received of another SIEV (SIEV 221) in the vicinity of Flying Fish Cove. The ship immediately went to boarding stations, and with the weather conditions having deteriorated further overnight, launched the vessel’s RHIBs in the lee of the island to be sent ahead of Pirie. Shortly after the departure of the vessel’s RHIBs, Pirie was informed that SIEV 221 had impacted Rocky Point and broken apart, casting its occupants into the water.

The RHIBs arrived at the scene and began immediately recovering survivors in spite of the danger posed to themselves by the monsoonal weather. Having also returned to the lee of the island, Triton successfully launched her tenders, which arrived on the scene to render assistance. Pirie’s RHIBs were recovered laden with survivors, many of whom were suffering severe injuries, shock and hypothermia. As soon as the survivors had been assisted from the RHIBs, the boats were launched again into the treacherous seas, returning to the impact site to recover more survivors. Pirie recovered four boat-loads of survivors and transferred several more to the Triton tenders. Pirie then steamed towards Ethel Beach and waiting medical teams, embarking a critically injured survivor from Triton en route. A total of 41 survivors were recovered to Pirie and Triton. Once the survivors were stabilised and transferred ashore via RHIB, Pirie returned to Rocky Point, with the search for survivors continuing for several days, which involved aerial support from RAAF aircraft. Tragically, the incident claimed the lives of fifty people.

An exhausting few days followed as Pirie continued to patrol the waters north of Christmas Island before being relieved by HMAS Glenelg on 20 December and setting course for Darwin. Three days later the Chief of Navy (CN), Vice Admiral Russ Crane, and the Warrant Officer of the Navy (WO-N), Warrant Officer Mark Tandy, embarked to address the ship’s company, CN congratulating them on their remarkable display of courage and professionalism. Pirie entered Darwin Harbour on the morning of 24 December and berthed alongside Coonawarra, where CN and WO-N conducted media interviews on the wharf. That afternoon, in a fine display of comradery, members of HMAS Bathurst’s ship’s company embarked in Pirie and assumed the role of duty watch for the evening, enabling the boat’s crew to proceed home to be with family and friends for Christmas Eve.

Chief of Navy, VADM Russ Crane conducts media interviews regarding SIEV 221 at HMAS Coonawarra. WO-N Mark Tandy watches on, 24 December 2010.

The remainder of the 2010 was spent alongside Coonawarra with the majority of the crew enjoying a well-earned period of respite. The Commanding Officer of Pirie (Lieutenant Commander Mitchell Livingstone, RAN - Assail Three) would later remark:

I have never been more proud of a group of people than I was during my last patrol. The ship’s company were a broad mix of ages, experience levels and backgrounds who united to achieve the rescue of over thirty people without a moment’s hesitation or thought of the very real and repeated risk to their own lives. The selfless heroism of those in the RHIB was balanced by the calm manner in which AB Pringle managed 27 serious casualties in rolling sea states. Not one of them suggested it was too hard or too dangerous, and it remains my absolute privilege to be their Commanding Officer.

19 ADF members were later commended for their bravery and devotion to duty in perilous circumstances by the then Chief of Defence Force General David Hurley, at an award ceremony held at Fort Hill Wharf Darwin on 22 November 2011.

Assail Three crew member Leading Seaman Boatswains Mate Nikki Bebonis, with ACV Triton crew member Sean Learoyd after receiving commendations for their involvement with the SIEV 221 incident at Christmas Island in December 2010.

Early 2011 saw Pirie return to regular Operation RESOLUTE tasking interspersed with periods alongside Darwin for maintenance and training. She commenced a refit on 10 March during which several members of the crew filled manning shortages aboard other ACPBs. Following her docking, Pirie resumed border protection operations. Notable boardings during the next several months included the seizure of 250 kilograms of trepang (sea cucumber) in August and the processing of two SIEVs in one twenty-four hour period in September.

CN, Vice Admiral Ray Griggs, WO-N Mark Tandy and Chief of Defence Force, General David Hurley, all visited Pirie in December. Pirie’s crew enjoyed a brief period of respite over Christmas, having narrowly avoided a requirement to sail from Darwin Harbour to avoid Tropical Cyclone Grant. The respite was short lived as they resumed border protection duties on 27 December.

Following a crew changeover at the end of January 2012, Pirie underwent a maintenance period in February before commencing work-up exercises at the end of the month. Exercises were interrupted temporarily on 7 March while Pirie went to the assistance of a small civilian vessel, Kerri-Anne, which was experiencing engine problems. After successfully getting Kerri-Anne underway, Pirie escorted the vessel back to Darwin. With the workup successfully completed, Pirie was assigned to Operation RESOLUTE on 8 March resuming patrol operations the following day.

Between 16-27 April, Pirie and the Indonesian vessel KRI Kakap successfully conducted the third Coordinated Maritime Security Patrol in the waters between Australia and Indonesia as part of the Australian-Indonesian Coordinate Patrol (AUSINDO CORPAT). The combined task group included an AP-3C Maritime Patrol Aircraft and saw assets from both countries communicating directly, and sharing surveillance and tactical information with each other. On 25 April, crew members from Kakap embarked in Pirie and observed the Anzac Day commemorative service held on board the boat’s quarterdeck.

Crew members of Assail Three conduct an Anzac Day Dawn Service on the quarterdeck of Armidale Class Patrol Boat HMAS Pirie, joined by the ship’s company of KRI Kakap.

Pirie resumed border protection operations on 1 May, conducting a number of patrols and boarding operations in the Ashmore Island area. She was relieved by HMAS Bathurst on the 10th before shaping course for Darwin, making a slight detour to participate in the Darwin Sailing Club season opening sail past in Fannie Bay on the 12th. Upon her return to Darwin she was docked in the Coonawarra hardstand for maintenance, including a change-out of the port engine. The maintenance period concluded in early November followed by a busy border protection patrol in the vicinity of Christmas Island, frustrated somewhat by some persistent engineering defects.

Pirie was relieved in early December by HMAS Broome and later conducted a three day visit to Singapore for logistics and crew respite, berthing at Sembawang Naval Base on 4 December. She commenced another high-tempo patrol in the Christmas Island area on 9 December before being relieved by HMAS Albany on the 16th and returning to Darwin on the 20th.

Following a period of routine maintenance, Pirie put to sea on 23 January 2013 under the auspices of Operation RESOLUTE, arriving on station at Ashmore Reef three days later and assuming Response Vessel duties from MV Ocean Protector. Almost immediately Pirie was responding to taskings, investigating a number of Critical Contact of Interest vessels (CCOI) over the ensuing months. She underwent a maintenance period in mid-June before sailing again for RESOLUTE duties on 12 July. The high-tempo of border protection operations continued through to December when the boat commenced a scheduled maintenance period.

Passage to Brisbane for Pirie’s five-year extended maintenance period provided a welcome change of scenery for the crew in January, with Operation RESOLUTE duties having provided almost all the boat’s service for the preceding four years. The morning of 14 January found Pirie proceeding up the Brisbane River before berthing at Hemmant Dockyard. The work package included extensive internal and external hull and superstructure maintenance, engine maintenance, lighting upgrades and stern tube modifications. A small skeleton staff remained with boat during the refit while the remainder of the crew returning to Darwin as operational reliefs for other ACPBs.

The works were completed on 19 June and Pirie departed Brisbane that evening for Cairns. Following a three day defect rectification period alongside HMAS Cairns, Pirie was again force assigned to Operation RESOLUTE, sailing on 25 June to patrol fishing grounds around Warrior Reef. Following a report from a support aircraft concerning an illegal fishing activity, Pirie successfully boarded a Papua New Guinean vessel, apprehending the crew. On June 27, in a first for Operation RESOLUTE, Pirie rendezvoused with a vessel from the PNG National Fisheries Agency before transferring the custody of the apprehended mariners to the National Fisheries Agency and PNG constabulary just outside PNG territorial waters. Pirie departed Queensland on 1 July, arriving alongside Coonawarra three days later, before swiftly refuelling and departing for Ashmore Island. A short period spent serving as Ashmore Island Response Vessel followed before the boat returned to Darwin on 9 July, to rectify a number of troublesome defects.

Mid-August 2014 saw Pirie depart Darwin for Waisai, Indonesia to participate in an Indonesian Fleet Review. The review took place on 23 August and saw a multitude of warships take part, including KRI Ahmad Yani, RSS Endeavour and USS Rodney M Davis. A return to the regular pattern of Operation RESOLUTE patrols soon followed, with a noticeably lower tempo being experienced. The end of the year found Pirie alongside HMAS Cairns, with the crew hosting a Christmas party for family and friends on the wharf.

Pirie was once again assigned to border protection operations in early 2015 and, in February, she conducted a co-ordinated patrol with Indonesian Fisheries Enforcement Vessels Hiu Macan Tutul 02 and Hiu Macan Tutul 06. The multi-crewing concept came to an end later in the year and when Assail Two (Lieutenant Commander Philip Draper, RAN) took command of Pirie from Assail Two on 17 August, the crew remained permanently attached to Pirie.

2015 saw the end of ‘multi crewing’ with Pirie embarking a permanent crew.

Following a successful Operation RESOLUTE patrol, Pirie returned to Darwin on 24 August and made preparations for Operation GRAB, conducted in conjunction with the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA). Operation GRAB comprised a series of covert day and night patrols within the Provisional Fisheries Surveillance Enforcement Line to determine if illegal sedentary fishing activity was taking place.Pirie embarked an AFMA officer and acted as Officer in Tactical Command for the operation. Pirie and HMAS Launceston conducted covert surveillance of many foreign fishing vessels though no illegal fishing activity was uncovered. The operation concluded on 1 September and Pirie steamed for Cairns to commence a scheduled maintenance period.

Pirie departed Cairns on 22 September resuming border protection operations as the Christmas Island Response Vessel. On 5 October, the boat hosted 180 civilian guests from the local Christmas Island community as part of the island’s Territory Day celebrations. Successive ship tours were conducted and in the afternoon Pirie’s sea boat acted as safety boat and marker for the ‘home-made yacht regatta’ in Flying Fish Cove.

In the early hours of 1 November Pirie conducted a high speed passage to Darwin from the Kimberley region to medivac a young civilian fisherman suspected of having being stung by a highly venomous box jellyfish. After 16 hours of medical support on board, the young fisherman was later transferred to hospital where he made a full recovery. He later expressed his gratitude to the crew and articulated an interest in joining the Royal Australian Navy as a result of his experience. The remainder of the year was spent conducting a series of maintenance periods, alongside both HMAS Cairns and HMAS Coonawarra.

Pirie once again conducted a number of Operation RESOLUTE taskings in January 2016 before returning to Darwin at the end of the month to prepare for passage to Singapore to commence an Extended Maintenance Period (EMP). During this time the ACPB force became aware of an engineering defect that required the replacement of the ships’ davits. In order to get to Singapore as expeditiously as possible a decision was made to replace Pirie’s starboard davit only; the port davit would be replaced in Singapore as part of the work package. The davit defect, combined with a defect in Pirie’s port stern tube, delayed the boat’s departure for Singapore by 12 days. She departed Darwin on 18 February and arrived in Singapore on the 24th where she was handed over to the ACPB Systems Program Office. The ship’s company returned to Australia and continued shore-based training during the maintenance period.

An initial group of Pirie personnel departed Darwin for Singapore on 23 May to commence Seaworthiness Material Assessments and ‘set to work’ of ship systems post undocking. This group was joined by the remainder of the crew on 6 June. On 14 June, Material Control of the boat was transferred from the ACPB Systems Program Office and back to Pirie’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Philip Draper, RAN. Following a series of trials and assessments Pirie was cleared for a return to service departing Singapore on 29 June for the passage home to Darwin. In September Pirie’s crew implemented the ‘Pirie 180’ culture change initiative, with a set of values created by the junior sailors and adopted by the entire ship’s company. The values were a pseudo-acronym for Pirie; Professionalism, Inspire, Respect, 180, Encourage. In addition, several processes to allow junior sailors to take on further leadership roles were adopted.

Pirie’s routine of high-tempo patrols in Australia’s northern waters continued in early 2017, mainly centring on the Torres Strait and the Gulf of Carpentaria, and the illegal poaching of sea cucumber. In March Pirie acted as the Tiwi Islands Surveillance and Response Vessel, at one point, recovering an illegal aggregated fishing device (a man-made object designed to attract ocean-going pelagic fish) some 20nm west of Cape Van Diemen. She also embarked a contingent of Australian Army and United States Marine Corps personnel from the Marine Rotational Force - Darwin to conduct gunnery serials inside the Military Exercise Area. Unfortunately forPirie, Exercise CASSOWARY, which had been programmed for the end of March, was cancelled; however, a visit to Dili, East Timor, was programmed in its stead.

HMAS Pirie sails out of Darwin Harbour with members of the United States Marine Corps - Rotational Force embarked to experience a day at sea on an Armidale Class Patrol Boat.

Maritime patrols continued through to mid-July when the boat entered dry dock at HMAS Coonawarra for maintenance through to the end of August. She later departed Darwin assuming the duties of Ashmore Island Warden on 7 September. The remainder of the year was spent conducting a series of maritime patrols, predominantly in the role of Tiwi Islands Surveillance and Response Vessel.

Pirie undertook familiar Operation RESOLUTE tasking in the waters of northern Queensland in early 2018 before docking for routine maintenance at the Norship Marine Shipyard in Cairns in February and March. She departed Cairns on 20 March and arrived in Darwin three days later where she resumed maritime patrol operations under the auspices of Operation RESOLUTE. The remainder of the year saw Pirie conduct a routine program of maritime patrols and maintenance, focussing primarily on illegal fishing in Australia’s EEZ.

The beginning of the New Year found Pirie conducting a series of patrols in the Torres Strait region under the auspices of Operation RESOLUTE, before undertaking a maintenance period at HMAS Coonawarra beginning in late February. On completion of the maintenance package, Pirie remained in the area conducting various work-up exercises until May when she returned to Coonawarra. Pirie resumed Operation RESOLUTE patrols in June, which continued for the remainder of the year interspersed with routine periods alongside at Coonawarra for logistics, maintenance and crew respite.

Seaman Boatswains Mate Karin Smit bears the ceremonial life ring for HMAS Pirie as the ship’s company marches through the streets of Darwin on Anzac Day 2019.

Pirie began 2020 force assigned to Operation RESOLUTE. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, brought with it new challenges that Pirie’s ship’s company had not previously faced and changed a number of ways ship-borne business was conducted. A number of the crew were quarantined throughout March due to returning from interstate or overseas travel, or showing flu-like symptoms. On 1 May Pirie rendezvoused with HMAS Parramatta in the vicinity of Cape Fourcroy for a series of manoeuvres and exercises before Pirie led a formation entry into Darwin Harbour. On 5 May Pirie departed Coonawarra for transit to the Torres Strait to take up duties as Torres Strait Response Vessel in support of Operation RESOLUTE. Following a quiet patrol, she returned to Coonawarra in order to conduct a planned maintenance period.

Operation RESOLUTE patrols fully occupied Pirie for the remainder of the year, with routine periods alongside at Coonawarra for logistics, maintenance and crew respite. Pirie’s final calendar year in commission got off to something of a frustrating start as minor engineering defects affected her workup period and RESOLUTE deployment in late January. She eventually departed Darwin in February, initially under the auspices of Operation RESOLUTE before commencing her decommissioning tour. She went on to visit Townsville, Brisbane, Newcastle and Sydney before proceeding north back to Darwin.

Pirie decommissioned in her home port of Darwin on 26 March 2021, the first of the RAN’s Armidale Class Patrol Boats to do so, marking the beginning of the end of the ACPB era in the RAN.

Commander Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Mark Hammond AM, salutes HMAS Pirie as she passes by while sailing in company with HMAS Maryborough, February 2021.

Sailors from HMAS Pirie wave to passing vessels as they sail into Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, for the last time before decommissioning, March 2021.