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Refit Photo Gallery 2:- by Colin Sheehan
This section came about when the opportunity to go aboard HMAS Kanimbla in mid refit came my way in January 2000. This page continues the tour we enjoyed as guests of the Commanding Officer and crew and seeks to show just how some of this mammoth task is accomplished.There are quite a few photo's to be seen here, so please be patient while they load and click on the thumbnails to see larger versions of each image. Enjoy.
From 05 deck we were able to look down onto the foredeck where, in the future, two LCM8 landing craft will be embarked. This will also be used very effectively as a helicopter flightdeck.
The temporary coverings mid-deck give weather protection to the ramp which will allow vehicular access to the foredeck from the tankdeck below.The control room is the heart and soul of a warship at sea and the sign on the hatch is no joke. This photo shows only the tools and lunchboxes of the workers, but when finished, this room will house some of the most vital equipment essential to the the ship's survival. Another essential part of the ship. The main galley onboard Kanimbla is the heart & soul of the crew's day to day survival. Tony's grin is based in envy as he surveys the mass of shiny new equipment being fitted. When he was chef onboard, a lot of the gear was considerably more "experienced"! The cafeteria is where the serious business of eating goes on and the conditions here will be very much improved after the refit as there are more galleys onboard now. Previously, there was no time to sit and digest as you had to move out to allow the next person to get a seat. Alongside the cafeteria, the "Wind Tunnel" which allows vehicular access to and from the foredeck and hanger/aft flight deck was a maze of ventilation tubes and pumps to keep the workers alive as the ship is effectively dead without it's own power. The interior of the helo hanger is huge as it has to be to house the 4 Seahawk or 3 SeaKing aircraft which this ship can now carry. Weather protection is supplied by a huge roller door. So now it is time to descend into the dim, dark depths of a ship buzzing with the frenzy of hundreds of workers. This is the biggest and most complicated boilermaker's shop I have ever been in. Wherever there is nothing going on, the passageway is a little dark as light is only needed where the work is happening.
Once the ship is sailing again, all will be bright and a lovely shade of grey once more! You will note the ventilation tubes snaking around the place.The general surroundings may look very drab, but this old ship is undergoing a full beauty treatment and as such, will once again venture out onto the oceans of the world as a very efficient member of the RAN. An attack of nostalgia as Tony suddenly discovers, among the clutter of the refit, a row of lockers which show the names of his former fellow crew members still written on the front. Tony and our very efficient guide, ABSCO Stacy Date, a Combat Systems Operator who performed excellent service by leading us around the ship and providing a wealth of information, are standing in what used to be the Supply Mess where Tony lived whilst onboard. Quite different now than when it housed nine ratings in spartan comfort.
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