Australia Purchases Second-Hand Undersea Drone Support Vessel
Australia’s defence ministry announced on 8 April that it had procured a dedicated Undersea Support Vessel from the civilian market.
In a press release, Defence announced that it had purchased the MV Normand Jarl for AU$110 million (~$72.9 million). The Norwegian-flagged offshore services ship is now undergoing inspection and certification in Singapore, prior to its reflagging as an Australian ship ahead of its departure for Australia.
Deputy Secretary Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Tony Dalton said in the release that the purchase demonstrated Defence’s commitment to providing a cutting edge capability that will expand the Australian Defence Force’s ability to “deliver multiple undersea project outcomes”.
In Australian service, the ship will be renamed Australian Defence Vessel Guidance. ADV Guidance will be primarily used to support trials of undersea surveillance systems like deployable manned and unmanned undersea vehicles. According to Dalton, Guidance will be “instrumental” in developing and testing robotic and autonomous underwater systems, “ensuring Defence can compete and succeed in a wide variety of complex undersea environments”.
Built in 2013, the MV Normand Jarl is 107 meters long, 22 meters wide and displaces 7,400 tons. It will be equipped with modular mission systems once in service as the Guidance, allowing the ship to sustain a range of Defence activities by embarking varying specialist teams and load-outs to meet specific trial requirements. The primary role of Guidance will be to support undersea surveillance systems trials, and will enable the deployment and evaluation of undersea crewed and uncrewed vehicles, and robotic and autonomous systems.
Defence’s statement confirms a 6 April report by Australian Defence Magazine that the Australian government had appeared to have purchased the MV Normand Jarl, based on circumstantial evidence that included the sale of the ship by Norwegian offshore services company Solstad Offshore to Teekay Shipping Australia, a company that provides crew and support services for ships of Australia’s National Support Squadron. Following the sale to Teekay in February, the MV Normand Jarl was renamed the Guidance, and reflagged as an Australian commercial vessel. At the time, Defence did not respond to the magazine’s requests for comment, while Teekay declined comment when contacted.