Rockingham-based ship returns to the sea

The Garden Island-based HMAS Perth is back in the water after a lengthy and complicated manoeuvring process completed on July 1.

Perth was lowered out of the dry dock at the Australian Marine Complex at Henderson after upgrades to her radar, communications and crew areas.

Commanding officer Anthony Nagle said getting her back into the water required precise co-ordination.

“The undocking itself is a lengthy process — moving a vessel that is 118m long, nearly 15m wide and that weighs 3900 tonnes requires meticulous management,” Cdr Nagle said.

“This is a significant step towards the completion of Perth’s upgrade, which will now move on to the final stages, enabling the ship to return to the fleet and undertake deployments and exercises with our regional partners in 2022.”

Perth has the motto ‘Fight and Flourish’ and has air defence, surface and undersea warfare and surveillance capabilities.

“The ability for our ship to remain engaged with its city namesake is very important to us and we look forward to being able to build an even stronger connection as we prepare to return Perth to sea and to operational service,” Commander Nagle said.

“We are honoured to represent Perth and we want the people of Perth to be as proud of our ship as we are to carry the name HMAS Perth.”

HMAS Perth will conduct sea trials and certification at the start of 2022.