At least 65 crewmembers of Australian surveying ship HMAS Melville disembarked here yesterday to experience some Palauan hospitality.
HMAS Melville ship arrived from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to Palau yesterday morning and will spend the next three days for some rest and recreation.
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Melville’s Commanding Officer, Commander Neil Cheverton said this is the first port call of the vessel in Palau and that the crewmembers are excited to go diving, fishing and sitting on Palau’s pristine beaches.
Cheverton said the hydrographic ships are doing a month – long surveying work in PNG and decided that for a few days break, they will sail to Palau.
He said everyone is excited to get off the ship and explore Palau.
HMAS Melville is helping PNG by updating it with new nautical charts.
Cheverton said the surveying work in PNG started early in January and will be completed by the end of February.
According to the Australian Navy website, HMAS Melville is named after Melville Island, just to the north of Darwin.
Melville enable the Australian Hydrographic Service to gather high quality hydrographic information.
The ship is 71 meters in length, with a beam of 15 meters, and a draught of 4.3 meters.
The ship carries three 9 – meter Survey Motor Boats for surveys in waters not suitable for the ships themselves. Both ships are capable of carrying a helicopter to assist in survey operations. (By Bernadette H. Carreon) [/restrict]