The second Canberra class amphibious assault ship built for the Royal Australian Navy, HMAS Adelaide, was commissioned into the fleet at Garden Island on Friday.
Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, Minister for Defence Senator Marise Payne and Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Tim Barrett attended the ceremony, which was held on the aircraft hangar deck.
“This is a proud and momentous occasion that symbolises the culmination of the amount of time, support and hard work that has gone into realising this capability,” said Captain Paul Mandziy, Commanding Officer of HMAS Adelaide.
“As the second of class, lessons learnt from HMAS Canberra, our sister ship, has sped up our introduction into service, but a lot of effort and energy was still required from my ship’s company to get us prepared for today. Our work does not stop with commissioning; in the new year we will conduct further trials at sea before commencing our work-up cycle.”
