Busy time for patrol boat

26 August 2004

Patrol boat HMAS Gawler (LCDR Gavin Baker) set sail on August 3 for what looked to be a routine maritime patrol in support of Operation Relex II.

It was not to be. Shortly after arriving in the designated patrol area a contact was made with a Type II foreign fishing vessel (FFV).

Gawler’s boarding party issued a warning notice.

A few hours later, another vessel was detected and Gawler again went to boarding stations.

A few days later another FFV was detected 35nm inside Australian waters.

Long line fishing equipment was clearly visible.

An obvious breach of Australian maritime law was evident so Gawler boarded the vessel.

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority () decided that the vessel was to be apprehended and towed back to Darwin Harbour.

En-route to Darwin, was then approached by a RAAF maritime patrol aircraft (MPA).

A request was made to conduct some precision airdrops to enhance training and inter-operability between the services.

accepted the request with keen anticipation and the airborne spectacle was a welcome highlight to a very busy patrol.