HMPNGS Lakekamu is landing craft heavy (LCH) operated by the Maritime Operations Element of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF). The vessel was one of eight built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the 1970s, and was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Labuan (L 128) in March 1973. Labuan was decommissioned in November 2014. She was transferred to the PNGDF for use as a training ship and was commissioned as HMPNGS Lakekamu in December 2014.
Design and construction
The eight-vessel Balikpapan class was ordered as a locally manufactured replacement for the Australian Army's LSM-1-class landing ship medium and ALC 50 landing craft. They are long, with a beam of , and a draught of . The landing craft have a standard displacement of 316 tons, with a full load displacement of 503 tons. 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. She was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Labuan (pennant number L 128) on 9 March 1973.
Between March and May 1974, the landing craft was based in Singapore, and was used to transport military materiel and stores to and from Belawan, Indonesia. In late February 1975, Labuan collided with a lighter during Exercise Wagon Train II. In RNVR service, Labuan was used to provide training and seagoing experience to Reserve personnel, generally on two-week deployments. From December 1997 to February 1998, the vessel was berthed in Cairns for communications upgrades. These deployments were later recognised with the battle honour "East Timor 1999–2000". On returning to Cairns at the end of 2000, the ship was prepared for a Life of Type Extension refit; the refit itself lasted from late February 2001 to early September 2001.
Labuan visited Ballina in August 2014, during the ship's final cruise before decommissioning.
Labuan, along with Brunei and Tarakan, were decommissioned on 20 November 2014. The ship's bell and ceremonial life ring are to be put on display at the Ballina Naval & Maritime Museum.
In 2013, the Australian government had promised to gift one of the Balikpapan-class vessels due to leave RAN service to Papua New Guinea. The ship's new name comes from the Lakekamu River, in Papua New Guinea's Gulf Province.
References
Sources
;Books
;Journal articles