Complementing the Australian Government’s border protection operations, the Australian Navy’s HMAS Sirius support ship has concluded a patrol through the North West Shelf oil and gas fields.
This patrol, known as Exercise RED RAPTOR, was designed to provide an overt security presence through the critical national infrastructure of the Australia’s North West Shelf.
The patrol consisted of a number of security checks of oil and gas platforms and regular conversations with the platform operators to build understanding of the Navy and industry joint use of the region.
Commanding Officer HMAS Sirius, Commander Darren Grogan , CSM, RAN commented on the importance of the exercise.
“It’s important to remember that the Navy’s role supporting border protection operations extends further than people may realise. A continuous overt presence in the North West Shelf provides much needed protection of one of Australia’s most significant strategic assets.”
The patrol also included a number of successful seamanship and engineering evolutions, providing the crew of Sirius the perfect opportunity to train new members of Ship’s Company.
Able Seaman Mary Palaamo commented on her first days onboard Sirius.
“Since joining HMAS Sirius, it’s been a refreshing experience so far, and a great start to the New Year, Exercise RED RAPTOR gave me a chance to refine my own skill sets and to learn new things.”
Exercise RED RAPTOR 1/14 proved to be a success for Sirius and Navy in contributing to the continued protection of sovereignty over Australia’s North West Shelf Oil and Gas Fields.
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Source: Australian Navy, February 14, 2014