26 December 2004
The Royal Australian Navy has played a pivotal role in supporting Australian Government responses to natural disasters in the Indo-Pacific. The RAN’s ability to transport large amounts of stores and people across long distances makes it a valuable long-term contributor to humanitarian and disaster relief missions. This balances the speed of response offered by the Royal Australian Air Force. RAN ensures a strong and secure Australia by supporting strong, secure and prosperous neighbours.
The early 2000s were a busy period for the RAN. In July 2003, the Solomon Islands requested Australia’s help to restore law and order. This involved the provision of humanitarian assistance following the outbreak of fighting between people from Guadalcanal and Malaita.
The Australian-led operation, Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) aimed to rebuild elements of the state. This is also known as Operation Helpem Fren and Operation Anode. The effort to rebuild included the judiciary, public services and infrastructure.
The Navy contributed:
- HMAS Manoora
- HMAS Whyalla
- HMAS Wewak
- HMAS Labuan
- HMAS Hawkesbury.
The ships supported the Participating Police Force (PPF). They performed this role by transporting them to remote villages. They also repaired damaged infrastructure, and later conducted fishery patrols and ordnance disposal.
In 2004, an earthquake struck off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The resulting tsunami rocked the coastal communities of 14 countries. It is sometimes known as the Boxing Day Tsunami. This resulted in the deaths of around 230,000 people.
Operation Sumatra Assist (and then Sumatra Assist II in March 2005) was the Australia Defence Force’s contribution to the international response to the disaster. Australia’s main contribution was of medical and engineering teams, enabled by Navy Sea King helicopters from 817 Squadron embarked on HMAS Kanimbla.
In 2005, one of Kanimbla’s Sea King helicopters, Shark 02, responded to another earthquake off Indonesia. Unfortunately, the helicopter crashed on Nias Island. This resulted in the deaths of 9 personnel, 6 Navy and 3 Air Force. Only two of the crewmembers survived.
More recent missions include Operation Fiji Assist and Tonga Assist. In these, the RAN used newer platforms. These were capable of carrying more materiel and people, such as the Canberra-class landing helicopter dock ships.
In mid-December 2020, Tropical Cyclone Yasa caused flooding and damage on Fiji’s 2 main islands. HMAS Adelaide departed Australia on Christmas Eve 2020. It delivered 165 tonnes of stores, building materials, tents and medical supplies.
The flexibility and reach of the RAN’s ships and helicopters enabled aid to be delivered to remote communities. It wasn’t long before the RAN responded to another natural disaster, this time in Tonga in 2022.
Adelaide returned to the Pacific with 250 pallets of supplies and 600 personnel stores. This supported medical, engineering and logistics tasks. The operation was complicated by COVID-19. Adelaide responded by unloading 88 tonnes of stores without making contact with locals.
The RAN’s flexibility, reach and endurance is indicative of the valuable contribution the RAN makes to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.