‘Fearless’ sailors witness volcanic spectacle

1 November 2010 By LEUT Anthony Case

HOT NIGHT: This photo of volcano Batu Tara was taken through nightvision equipment on board HMAS Toowoomba while the ship was transiting the Flores Sea en route to Surabaya, Indonesia.

While this image of volcano Batu Tara looks like it might have been taken from a submarine’s periscope, it was actually taken shortly after sunset through night-vision equipment on board HMAS Toowoomba (Commander Ivan Ingham).

At a range of only five nautical miles, lava flows were clearly visible to the naked eye.

However, use of the ship’s night vision equipment allowed crew members to gain a better view of the massive active volcano.

The photograph was captured by the ship’s navigator while the ship was transiting the Flores Sea en route to Surabaya, Indonesia, as part of the South East Asia Deployment Task Group.

“This is one of the many remarkable sights and experiences that will make this deployment memorable for the large number of my personnel who have recently joined Navy, and are now on their first overseas deployment,” Toowoomba’s CO, CMDR Ivan Ingham, said.

Navigator, LEUT Adam Pearce, said, “It’s truly spectacular to see such a powerful example of Mother Nature’s work”.

Toowoomba departed Fleet Base West in company with her sister ship HMAS Arunta in August.

Having completed exercises Kadadu and Singaroo in the North Australian Exercise Areas, the pair headed to South East Asia in company with HMA Ships Success and Tobruk to participate in exercises off the Malaysian Peninsula, and are scheduled to return to Australian waters in November.