Twenty-one years of service

18 May 2007

HMAS Success celebrated her 21st birthday on April 23 at sea.

Cockatoo Dockyard Pty Ltd built Success. She was launched from the slipway on March 3, 1984 by Her Excellency Lady Stephen, wife of the then Governor General and commissioned into the RAN on 23 April 1986. Success is the largest ship built in Australia for the RAN and also the largest ever built in Sydney. She displaces 18,000 tonnes, has a length of 157.2 metres, beam of 21.2 metres and a ship's company of 220.

During her faithful and loyal 21 years service to the RAN, Success has accomplished around 3000 RAS evolutions units and various types of ships from different nations.

She has steamed in excess of 715,000 nautical miles and saw active service in the first Gulf War as part of the multi-national Naval Force.

Four main RAS stations are fitted, two of which have dual functions and can be used to transfer either fuel or solid cargo.