HMAS Pirie Boarded by Indonesian Navy

14 May 2010

HMAS Pirie

For the first time in Navy’s history, a ship has been boarded by members of the Indonesian Navy after it was suspected of containing illegally caught fish.

According to the Commanding Officer ASSAIL SIX Lieutenant Commander Sean Logan embarked HMAS Pirie, his ship was forced to stop after two rounds from KRI Untung Suropati landed fifty metres starboard quarter.

“I thought we would get away with it. I had no idea Australia was passing intelligence to the Indonesians about our activities, resulting in the interception of my ship,” said LCDR Logan.

After stopping, a boarding party from KRI Untung Suropati was despatched, quickly taking control of HMAS Pirie, detaining the crew and confiscating the cargo.

This incident was of course a simulation. As part of Exercise CASSOWARY 10, HMAS Pirie was used to help create a realistic scenario for the Indonesian Navy to practice their boarding party skills.

With the apprehension successfully completed, members of HMAS Pirie then demonstrated their skills by boarding KRI Kerapu, also masquerading as a foreign fishing vessel.

“The purpose of this exercise was for the Indonesian and Australian navies to observe each other’s boarding operations, enabling us to fine tune our approach and improve existing methods,” said LCDR Logan.

LCDR Logan said that the importance in practising boarding parties and sharing lessons learnt with the Indonesians cannot be underestimated.

“Although boarding operations are common for the RAN and TNI-AL, they are not routine as each boat we board is unique and may require a different approach,” said LCDR Logan.

“This is the first time I have participated in joint maritime operations with the Indonesian Navy and CASSOWARY 10 has certainly exceeded my expectations. ASSAIL SIX and I have learnt a lot which we will now start to put into practice,” LCDR Logan stated.

HMAS Pirie Boarded by Indonesian Navy

Related Stories

Keywords