HMAS ''Flinders'' (GS 312/A 312), named for

Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then ...

(1774–1814), was a

hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore wind farms, offshore oil exploration and drilling and related activities. Surveys may als ...

ship of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

(RAN). Built by HMA Naval Dockyard at

Williamstown, Victoria Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Hobsons Bay Local government areas of Victoria, ...

, ''Flinders'' was commissioned into the RAN in 1973, and was used to conduct

s in the waters to Australia's north, including parts of New Guinea. In 1974, the ship was tasked with assisting clean up efforts in the wake of

Cyclone Tracy Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy was a small but destructive tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, in December 1974. The small but developing easterly storm was or ...

, which devastated large parts of Darwin. The ship was decommissioned in 1998 and sold to civilian operators, who have since converted her into a private yacht in the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

Construction and design

The ship was ordered in 1970 to replace the light survey vessel .Gillett, ''Australian and New Zealand Warships Since 1946'', p. 101 ''Flinders'' was in

length overall Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also ...

, with a beam of , a draught of , and a

full load displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weig ...

of 740 tons. Propulsion was provided by two Paxman Ventura diesel motors connected to twin screws, providing a top speed of and a range of at . The hull was all-welded, and designed to Australian Shipping Board standards for coastal operations. Increased

seakeeping Seakeeping ability or seaworthiness is a measure of how well-suited a watercraft is to conditions when underway. A ship or boat which has good seakeeping ability is said to be very seaworthy and is able to operate effectively even in high sea stat ...

ability was imparted through a

bulbous bow A bulbous bow is a streamlined flaring or protruding bulb at the bow (or front) of a ship just below the waterline. The flare or bulb modifies the way the water flows around the hull, reducing drag and thus increasing speed, range, fuel effici ...

, high

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck (ship), deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is t ...

, and a stabilising system. Most operations were intended to be in the waters of Australia and Papua New Guinea, although ''Flinders'' was also capable of limited

oceanographic Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...

work. The ship's company consisted of 38 personnel, and ''Flinders'' carried light-calibre weapons for self-defence. ''Flinders'' was laid down by HMA Naval Dockyard at

, in February 1971.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 393 She was launched on 29 July 1972 and commissioned into the RAN on 27 April 1973.Gillett, ''Australian and New Zealand Warships Since 1946'', p. 102 The ship cost $2,600,000.Gillett & Graham, ''Warships of Australia'', p. 274.

Operational history

On commissioning, the ship was based in Cairns, and afterwards was used to undertake

s to Australia's north. Following the destruction of Darwin by

during the night of 24–25 December 1974, ''Flinders'' was deployed as part of the relief effort;

Operation Navy Help Darwin Operation Navy Help Darwin was a disaster relief operation initiated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) following the destruction of Darwin, Northern Territory by Cyclone Tracy during the night of 24–25 December 1974. 13 ships, 11 aircraft, and ...

. She sailed from Cairns on 26 December, and as the first ship to arrive, ''Flinders'' was tasked with surveying the harbour to work out the position of wrecks and the safest areas for the other RAN ships to anchor. The majority of ''Flinders'' survey work was undertaken off the Queensland coast, but in 1976 she undertook operations in the Dampier Strait, in New Guinea waters. From 1980 to 1983 she operated off the coasts of Queensland and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

under

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

. In 1982, Bond and ''Flinders'' discovered, surveyed and charted the

Hydrographers Passage Hydrographers Passage is a deep-water shipping channel through the Great Barrier Reef, that reduced the previous route by 250 miles. It was discovered by James Bond, commander of the Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is th ...

, providing a faster, more efficient route through the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

for merchant shipping. ''Flinders'' was decommissioned in 1998. In October 1999, the ship was sold at auction for A$518,460 to a New Zealand consortium. She was remodelled into a private yacht, and now operates as MY ''Plan B'',

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

in the

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flinders (A 312) Survey ships of the Royal Australian Navy 1972 ships Ships built in Victoria (state)