Balikpapan-class landing craft

The Balikpapan class is a class of eight heavy landing craft. All eight were built by Walkers Limited for the Australian Army in the early 1970s. A reorganisation of watercraft responsibilities in the Australian military meant the landing craft were operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), with seven commissioned directly into RAN service during 1973 and 1974, and lead ship transferred from the army to the navy. During the leadup to the independence of Papua New Guinea in 1975, two of the vessels ( and ) were transferred to the new Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF).

During their careers, the Australian vessels have operated in support of Operation Navy Help Darwin in 1974–1975, Operation Bel Isi from 1997 to 2003, INTERFET operations in 1999 and 2000, and RAMSI operations from 2003.

The six remaining RAN vessels were paid off in the 2010s: Balikpapan, , and in 2012; , , and in 2014. They are yet to be replaced in RAN service. In 2014, the former Labuan was transferred to Papua New Guinea as the training ship . Brunei and Tarakan were refitted and donated to the Philippine Navy in 2015, commissioning as and . Three additional units of the class - decommissioned units former HMAS Balikpapan, HMAS Wewak and HMAS Betano - were sold in 2016 to the Philippine Navy. The PNGDF decommissioned Salamaua in 2020 and Buna in 2021.

Design and capabilities

thumb|left|upright|[[M-113 armoured personnel carriers disembarking on a beach from a Balikpapan-class landing craft]]

Eight new heavy landing craft were ordered in 1969 as a locally manufactured replacement for the Australian Army's four LSM-1-class landing ship medium and two ALC 50 landing craft after the Landing Ship Medium Mark II project was cancelled. They are long, with a beam of , and a draught of . The landing craft have a standard displacement of 320 tons, with a full load displacement of 517 tons. These were replaced by Caterpillar 3406E diesel engines between 2005 and 2007 for those still in Australian service. As a troop transport, a Balikpapan class vessel can transport up to 400 soldiers between a larger amphibious ship and the shore, or embark 60 soldiers in six-berth caravans for longer voyages. The vessel's payload affects the range: at 175 tons of cargo, each vessel has a range of , which increases to with a 150-ton payload, and when unladen. All were laid down during 1971 and 1972, with lead ship entering service with the Australian Army Water Transport Squadron at the end of 1971.

Operational history

Australian service

thumb|Australian troops landing in [[East Timor 2006, using HMAS Balikpapan]]

In January 1973, the Balikpapans in RAN service were formed together as the First Australian Landing Craft Squadron, based at in Brisbane. Five of the remaining Australian LCHs were deployed in December 1974 following Cyclone Tracy as part of Operation Navy Help Darwin; was undergoing refits at the time.

was assigned to the Royal Australian Navy Reserve in June 1979, and attached to the Brisbane Port Division. Ships deployed on this operation were involved in resupplying the PMG base in Loloho, transport of PMG personnel and humanitarian aid, and coastal patrols. Balikpapan and Betano were both decommissioned a day later, on 12 December. The other three Australian vessels were decommissioned on 19 November 2014.

Papua New Guinea

As part of the leadup to the independence of Papua New Guinea, in November 1974, and were transferred to the fledgling Papua New Guinea Defence Force, along with five Attack-class patrol boats.

The two PNG vessels were listed in Jane's Fighting Ships as non-operational since 2011, and awaiting refits. By 2013, they had been returned to service. Labuan and Tarakan delivered humanitarian supplies to remote coastal settlements in the Solomon Islands in September 2014 as part of Australian support efforts in the region.

After decommissioning from Australian service, Labuan was transferred to the PNGDF for use as a training vessel, and was commissioned as on 4 December 2014.

Salamaua was decommissioned from PNGDF service on 19 June 2020. Buna was decommissioned from PNGDF service in June 2021.

Philippines

thumb|left|BRP Ivatan (left) and BRP Batak during the arrival ceremonies at [[Naval Base Cavite on 7 August 2015]]

Brunei and Tarakan were selected for donation to the Philippine Navy in January 2015. The intention was to improve the Philippines' sealift capability, which was found lacking following Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. Hand-over of the vessel was originally planned for 17 May 2015, but this did not occur. Instead, the Philippine Navy took possession of the vessels at on 23 July, with Brunei commissioned as and Tarakan commissioned as . The two landing craft sailed that day for the Philippines, with a formal christening ceremony to be held following their arrival in early August. It has been reported that the vessels will likely be homeported on the island of Palawan.

The Philippine and Australian governments are in negotiations to sell the three remaining Australian Balikpapans to the Philippine Navy, with a deal expected to be reached later in 2015. The Philippines paid ₱270 million for the three vessels.

Ships of the class

{| class="wikitable"

!Prefix

!Name

!Pennant

!Commissioned

!Decommissioned

!Fate

! colspan="6" |Royal Australian Navy

|HMAS

|L126

|8 December 1971

|12 December 2012

|Transferred to the Philippine Navy as

|HMAS

|Brunei

|L127

|5 January 1973

|20 November 2014

|Transferred to the Philippine Navy as BRP Ivatan

|HMAS

|Labuan

|L128

|9 March 1973

|20 November 2014

|Transferred to Papua New Guinea as HMPNGS Lakekamu

|HMAS

|Tarakan

|L129

|12 June 1973

|20 November 2014

|Transferred to the Philippine Navy as BRP Batak

|HMAS

|Wewak

|L130

|10 August 1973

|11 December 2012

|Transferred to the Philippine Navy as BRP Iwak

|HMAS

|Salamaua

|L131

|19 October 1973

|14 November 1974

|Transferred to Papua New Guinea as HMPNGS Salamaua

|HMAS

|Buna

|L132

|7 December 1973

|14 November 1974

|Transferred to Papua New Guinea as HMPNGS Buna

|HMAS

|Betano

|L133

|8 February 1974

|12 December 2012

|Transferred to the Philippine Navy as BRP Waray

! colspan="6" |Papua New Guinea Maritime Element

|HMPNGS

|Buna

|L32

|14 November 1974

|28 June 2021

|Retired

|HMPNGS

|Salamaua

|L33

|14 November 1974

|19 June 2020

|Retired

|HMPNGS

|Lakekamu

|L33

|4 December 2014

|In active service

! colspan="6" |Philippine Navy

|BRP

| valign="top" |Ivatan

|LC-298

|23 July 2015