Amphibious Ship for Earthquake Relief

The Royal New Zealand Navy reported that multi-role vessel (MRV) HMNZS Canterbury was alongside in Lyttelton when an earthquake struck on 22 February 2011. The ship was able to immediately begin relief operations.

Unfortunately Media reports indicate that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has no comparable ships available to assist, with all in for repair.

This would be an ideal use for Australian designed high speed multi hull vessels. The US Maritime Administration (MARAD) used the Australian designed high speed catamaran “Huakai” to deliver aid to Haiti. The US military are acquiring up to ten similar Fortitude class Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV) designed by West Australian based company Austal. Unfortunately the Australian Government has no plans to acquire any of these ships for the Australian Defence Force.