Responder & protector

There are few places on the planet more beautiful or special than the Great Barrier Reef off the north east coast of Australia.

Designated a ‘world heritage site’ it is the largest coral reef in the world at 2,600km.

To the north of the reef lies the Torres Strait, which is a vital shipping route for vessels travelling to and from Asian ports and Australia. It copes with around 3,000 transits annually of vessels greater than 50m in length but in some parts the strait has a depth of only 11m.

These are busy waters in special areas and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is the organisation, which takes responsibility for ensuring ship safety, search and rescue, and the management of environmental standards in these precious regions.

Providing essential assistance to AMSA in this role is their vessel, Pacific Responder. This Rolls-Royce UT-Design vessel is a highly flexible and potent tool in the protection of Australia’ coast. The ship is based in Cairns and spends the majority of its time on patrol in the northeast.

Pacific Responder has a ten-ton crane, anchor-handling equipment and dynamic positioning capabilities. Its day job is to maintain the navigation aids and buoys in the area but it also has towage and anti-pollution equipment on board to fulfil its multi-function role.

Rolls Royce provides a range of specialised ships for such roles in the offshore sector from its leading UT-Design portfolio.