MSA Brolga (1102)
MSA Brolga in 2001 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Builder | Australian Shipbuilding Industries |
| Launched | 1975 |
| Renamed |
|
| Reclassified |
|
| Identification | IMO number: 7532662 |
| Status | Active in private service as of 2008 |
| History | |
| Australia | |
| Name | Brolga |
| Namesake | The brolga |
| Acquired | 10 February 1988 |
| In service | 1988 |
| Out of service | 2003 |
| Homeport | HMAS Waterhen |
| Identification | IMO number: 7532662 |
| Fate | Sold in 2003 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 268 tons full load |
| Length | 28.45 m (93 ft 4 in) |
| Beam | 8.1 m (26 ft 7 in) |
| Draught | 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) |
| Propulsion | 1 Mirrlees Blackstone diesel, 540 hp (400 kW), 1 shaft |
| Speed | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 8–17 (RAN) |
| Sensors & processing systems | I-band navigation radar |
MSA (Minesweeper Auxiliary) Brolga (1102) was a minesweeper operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1988 and 2003. Launched in 1975 by Australian Shipbuilding Industries, the ship was designed for the Department of Transport as the lighthouse tender Lumen. Originally operating as a supply vessel for lighthouses around northern Queensland and the Torres Strait, the transition in lighthouse lights from acetylene gas to solar power meant there was less demand for the vessel, and by 1988, the Department of Transport was looking to sell the ship.
Around this time, the RAN was looking to acquire vessels under the Craft of Opportunity Program, to serve as auxiliary minesweepers and technology testbeds.