HMAS Melville

HMAS Melville Statistics

Pennant	A 246
Type	Support
Classification	Surveying Ship (AGS)
Class	Leeuwin Class
Based	Cairns
Launched	June 1998
Builder	NQEA, Queensland
Commissioned	27 May 2000
Displacement	2550 tonnes2,550,000 kg 2,550,000,000 g 5,621,786.1 lb 89,948,603.1 oz
Length	71.2 metres7,120 cm 0.0712 km 0.0442 mi 233.596 ft 2,803.15 in
Beam	15.2 metres1,520 cm 0.0152 km 0.00944 mi 49.869 ft 598.425 in
Draught	4.3 metres430 cm 0.0043 km 0.00267 mi 14.108 ft 169.291 in
Aircraft	Fitted with helicopter flight deck and hanger
Main Machinery	4 x Ruston diesel generators, 2 x electric propulsion motors
Equipment	1 multi-beam medium / shallow echo-sounder 1 dual frequency single beam echo-sounder Digital hydrographic data logging and data processing system HF medium range differential GPS Hull mounted forward looking sonar Towed dual frequency side scan sonar 3 10 metre Survey Motor Boats equipped with shallow water multi-beam echo-sounders and * short range UHF differential GPS.
Speed	14 knots7.202 m/s 25.928 km/h 0.0072 km/s 1,417.761 ft/min 23.629 ft/s
Company	46
Range	3500 nautical miles

HMAS Melville and and her sister ship HMAS Leeuwin replaced the now decommissioned vessels HMA Ships Moresby and Flinders in 2000. Both ships take their names from prominent points on the Australian coast. Melville is named after Melville Island, just to the north of Darwin. Melville was launched midway through 1998. The ships were built by NQEA in Cairns, North Queensland.

Leeuwin and Melville enable the Australian Hydrographic Service to gather high quality hydrographic information at a much greater rate than the ships they replace. The ships are 71 metres in length, with a beam of 15 metres, and a draught of 4.3 metres. Each ship displaces 2,550 tonnes and is manned by a crew of 46 officers and sailors. A state of the art Hydrographic Survey System (HSS) developed by STN Atlas will integrate accurate position information with data from a multi-beam echo sounder, towed side-scan sonar, single beam echo sounder and a forward-looking sonar. The ships will also carry three fully equipped 9 metre Survey Motor Boats for surveys in waters not suitable for the ships themselves. Both ships are capable of carrying a helicopter to assist in survey operations.

Crewed by

HS White	Lieutenant Commander Michael Gulyas
HS Blue	Lieutenant Commander Mike Pounder
HS Red	Commander Philip Hiatt