Last Friday, the Royal Australian Navy’s replenishment ship HMAS Sirius, carrying over 60 officers and crew members, docked at Da Nang’s Tien Sa Port at the beginning of a 5-day visit to the city.

In the afternoon of the same day, the municipal People's Committee Vice Chairman, Mr Phung Tan Viet, warmly received a group of the ship’s naval officers, led by the ship’s Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Darren Grogan.

Lieutenant Colonel Grogan said that he was very impressed by the city’s dynamic growth over recent years.  He also hoped that the bilateral friendship with Da Nang, and Viet Nam as a whole, would be further deepened in the years ahead.

HMAS Sirius

In reply, Vice Chairman Viet said he would like the Australian and Vietnamese navies to jointly take part in naval exchange activities, especially search and rescue work at sea.

During their 5-day stay in the city, the Australian guests are scheduled to pay courtesy visits to leaders of the High Commands of Military Zone 5 and Naval Zone 3.  In addition, they will play a friendly volleyball match against their colleagues from the Zone 3 Naval High Command.

Professional exchange sessions will be held for the Vietnamese and Australian naval officers, during which they will share experiences of how to replenish supplies and deal with unidentified ships.

On 3 November, the last day of the visit, the Australian guests and some units of the Naval Zone 3 will conduct a joint training drill at sea.

According to the website of the Royal Australian Navy, HMAS Sirius was built by the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea in 2004 and was commissioned 2 years later.

The 191m-long and 32m-wide ship can sail at a top speed of 17 nautical miles per hour and has a range of 16,000 nautical miles.  It is equipped with five 12.7 mm machine guns for self-defence, and 2 Sperry Marine Bridgemaster radar systems.

The vessel can carry around 35,000m³ of fuel and 240 tons of cargo.  It can replenish ships at sea by day or night, and is capable of replenishing 2 ships at once.