HMAS

Success (II) - Part 7

• HMAS Success (II) - Part 6

2015

Success’ responsibilities in the MER were multifarious and, in addition to her normal fleet support role, also conducted patrol, surveillance and boarding operations. Her Seahawk helicopter flew surface search sorties most days and the ship made logistic visits during and between patrols to ports in the UAE, Oman and Djibouti. She also conducted replenishment operations with numerous ships from the various countries of the multi-national task force including Spain, France, Turkey, the UK, Germany, the USA, Italy and the Netherlands.

HMAS Success’ replenishment at sea flag.

Left: Commanding Officer HMAS Success, Captain Justin Jones, RAN (second left) cuts the Navy's 114th birthday cake with HMAS Success’ youngest sailor, Able Seaman Boatswains Mate Melissa Sirett while surrounded by members of ship's company during Operation MANITOU in the Middle East Region. Right: A cake prepared by HMAS Success Maritime Logistics - Chefs to celebrate the Royal Australian Navy’s 114th birthday while deployed in the Middle East Region as part of Operation MANITOU.

She was assigned to NATO’s anti-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD at the end of March, operating in the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa. She rendezvoused with HMAS Anzac and HMNZS Te Kaha in April and transited the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean to participate in Centenary of Anzac commemorations in Greece. The ship visited Moudros, the location of the Allied base during the Dardanelles campaign, and Athens, and conducted exercises with Greek warships. The tanker transited the Suez Canal on 3 May back to the MER where she recommenced MANITOU operations. She visited Port Victoria in the Seychelles later in the month before formally out-chopping from Operation MANITOU on the 14th. She arrived back in Sydney, via Stirling and Westernport, on 3 June where she commenced a refit.

2016

Success returned to sea on 20 April and commenced post-refit trials, and shakedown and workup exercises. She visited Newcastle at the end of the month, and Melbourne in May. She commenced passage north for South East Asia the following month, arriving in Darwin on 17 June where she embarked humanitarian assistance stores bound for Timor Leste. She departed on the 25th with two East Timorese naval officers embarked for passage to Dili. Upon her arrival on the 27th members of the ship's company disembarked to provide assistance to the Bairo Pite Medical Clinic, run solely through donations and by volunteers. While medical staff provided medical assistance, other members of the crew undertook general maintenance at the centre.

She went on to visit Jakarta, Singapore, Langkawi, Sattahip, Phuket, Penang and Chennai, and conducted replenishment operations and exercises with naval units from the USA, Malaysia and India. She conducted patrols of the oil rigs of Australia's North West Shelf in support of Operation NORTHERN SHIELD at the end of August and into September while en route back to Australia, and also conducted replenishment operations with US, Japanese and Canadian vessels in northern Australian waters for the forthcoming Exercise KAKADU.

HMAS Success transfers fuel to HMAS Adelaide during a replenishment at sea in the Beagle Gulf.

She arrived in Darwin on 11 September and KAKADU commenced two days later and concluded on the 23rd. Success arrived back in Sydney, via Townsville, on 7 October where she remained for the remainder of the year in a leave and maintenance period.

2017

The ship returned to sea on 30 January 2017 to participate in Exercise OCEAN EXPLORER in Western Australian waters. Following a brief visit to Melbourne Success arrived at Stirling on 10 February. OCEAN EXPLORER commenced a few days later and continued on into March

The ship returned to Sydney at the end of March where she commenced preparations for Exercise TALISMAN SABRE. She conducted exercises with HMA Ships Darwin and Parramatta, and ESPS Cristobal Colon in early May before proceeding to Darwin. She conducted further exercises with Cristobal Colon and the French ships Mistral and Courbet before returning to Sydney at the end of the month.

Damage caused by a flood the forward pump compartment forced Success to remain alongside longer than scheduled; however, she returned to sea on 29 June and joined a task group that included seven other RAN vessels, and proceeded north to Queensland waters to participate in TALISMAN SABRE. The exercise continued through most of July and included some 33,000 personnel from Australia and the USA, as well embedded personnel from New Zealand, Japan and Canada.

Success visited Cairns upon the conclusion of TALISMAN SABRE before proceeding to Honiara where she participated in commemoration services marking the 75th anniversary of the loss of HMAS Canberra (I), conducting a patrol in support of Operation SOLANIA en route. She at Honiara on 6 August and on the 9th, embarked some 90 guests, including the Governor-General of the Solomon Islands, His Excellency Sir Frank Kabui, and the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, the Honourable Manasseh Sogavare, to conduct a commemoration ceremony over the wreck of Canberra. With her guests disembarked, Success departed Honiara that evening and visited Wellington, New Zealand, before arriving back in Sydney on the 25th where she commenced refit preparations.

HMAS Darwin passes on ‘The First Lady of the Fleet’ trophy to HMAS Success, as they become the longest serving ship in the fleet, after the decommissioning ceremony for HMAS Darwin at Fleet Base East, Sydney.

On 9 December, Success’ Commanding Officer, Commander Grant Zilko, attended the decommissioning ceremony of HMAS Darwin. During the ceremony, Commander Zilko accepted the ‘First Lady of the Fleet’ trophy as the mantle of the oldest commissioned ship in the RAN was passed from Darwin to Success.

2018

The First Lady of the Fleet returned to Sea on 21 February 2018 and commenced post-refit trials, and shakedown and workup exercises. She departed Sydney on 29 March to commence a five-month deployment which would include participation in Exercise BERSAMA SHIELD 18, INDO-PACIFIC ENDEAVOUR 18 and RIMPAC 18. The Australian Task Group consisted of Success and HMA Ships Anzac and Toowoomba, though the ships were often dispersed over the course of the deployment.

Over the first two months of the deployment, Success visited Subic Bay, Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore, and participated in Exercise BERSAMA SHIELD, primarily in Malaysian waters, in May. During her passage from Subic Bay to Ho Chi Minh City she exchanged identities with the PLA-N frigate Xuchang as she crossed the South China Sea; the Chinese vessel part of a PLA-N task group conducting exercises in the area. Xuchang and the corvette Liupanshui remained in the vicinity for the duration of the passage. She once again exchanged identities with Xuchang after leaving Ho Chi Minh City for Singapore. All of her communications with the Chinese were cordial but these encounters were a reflection of the disputes regarding freedom of navigation in the area.

HMA Ships Adelaide, left, and Melbourne, right, conduct concurrent replenishment from HMAS Success during Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2018.

The tanker visited Cairns at the end of May before embarking on INDO-PACIFIC ENDEAVOUR 18 (IPE 18). The IPE 18 Task Group included HMA Ships Adelaide, Melbourne and Toowoomba, as well as Success, and was intended to deepen Australia's engagement and cooperation with regional security forces. Around 1000 Australian Defence Force personnel were involved, as well as embarked forces from the USA, Sri Lanka and Tonga, and participated in training exercises, humanitarian and disaster relief planning, community engagement activities, and discussions on regional security issues. The Task Group visited Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Success departed Cairns on 30 May and visited ports in Vanuatu, Samoa and Papua New Guinea. The ship delivered humanitarian assistance stores while members of the ship’s company conducted maintenance at hospitals, aged care facilities, youth centres, schools and medical centres, conducted training exercises with the Samoan Police Maritime Wing, and facilitated workshops. IPE 18 bookended Success’ participation in Exercise RIMPAC which was conducted in July and included participants from 25 nations. The tanker returned to Sydney on 24 August and entered a leave and maintenance period.

She returned to sea on 23 October and conducted exercises off the New South Wales coast before proceeding north to Port Moresby in November for Operation APEC ASSIST, the ADF commitment to provide maritime security support to Papua New Guinea during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leader's forum. She returned to Sydney on 23 November where entered a leave and maintenance period for the remainder of the year.

2019

Following an extensive maintenance program to prepare her for her final calendar year in commission, Success returned to sea on 17 February 2019 to participate in Exercise OCEAN EXPLORER in Western Australian waters at the end of the month and into March. Upon the successful conclusion of OCEAN EXPLORER, Success remained in Western Australia conducting exercises and undergoing maintenance before her final Freedom of Entry march through the streets of Fremantle on 9 March.

Members of the Marine Engineering Department are joined by senior engineers and the Commanding Officer, Captain Darren Grogan, CSM, RAN, second from left, on board HMAS Success after receiving their Marine Technician Operator Qualifications during the ship's final deployment on Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2019.

The ship departed Fremantle in company with HMA Ships Canberra, Newcastle and Parramatta on 11 March for her last overseas deployment, INDO PACIFIC ENDEAVOUR 2019. Over the course of the deployment Success visited ports in Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia; conducted exercises with naval units from Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia; and participated in her final major international exercise, AUSINDEX 19. She also rendezvoused and conducted passage exercises with the ASEAN Defence Minister’s Meeting Plus Task Group, which was en route to Singapore and included ships from Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, China, South Korea, the USA, India, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Success arrived back in Cairns on 31 May where she commenced decommissioning preparations ahead of her final month in commission. She conducted her final replenishment at sea serial on 4 June, after departing Cairns, transferring fuel to FNS Vendemiaire and HMA Ships Melbourne and Newcastle. She went on to visit Brisbane and Jervis Bay before arriving back in Sydney on 16 June.

HMAS Success flying the decommissioning pennant while sailing into her home port for the final time. (Darryl Bullock collection)

HMAS Success (II) decommissioned in Sydney on 29 June 2019 in a ceremony attended by hundreds of guests and VIPs. She steamed just over 997,854nm over the course of her commission, missing out on joining the ‘one million club’ by less than 3000nm. With Success’ decommissioning, the mantle of ‘First Lady of the Fleet’ was passed on to HMAS Melbourne.

Left: HMAS Success ship’s company conducts the ceremony of colours for the last time. Right: HMAS Success ship’s company march off the ship for the final time during the decommissioning ceremony at Fleet Base East, Sydney.

Commanding Officers of HMAS Success (II)

* Post nominals awarded before or during command

Former Commanding Officers of HMAS Success (II).