HMAS Otama - Decommissioning and Fate

Decommissioning and Fate

Otama paid off on 15 December 2000: problems with the introduction of the Collins-class submarines kept Otama and sister boat Onslow in service for several years beyond their planned decommissioning date.

The submarine was sold in 2001 to the Western Port Oberon Association, a community group with the intention of preserving her as a museum ship in Hastings, Victoria, for A$50,000. Otama was towed to Western Port Bay in 2002, where she was to wait until the Shire of Mornington Peninsula council approved plans to construct a purpose-built tourism and information centre, where the submarine would be docked. However, the council knocked these plans back on three separate occasions, each at a different location. In late 2008, the submarine was listed for sale on eBay, as the group could no longer afford to maintain Otama while waiting for council approval.

The submarine was not sold, but several expressions of interest were made; among these, the owners received enquires about the possibility of restoring the submarine to operational condition. Although claiming to be a tourism operator, Otama's owners believed that the enquirer wanted to use the submarine for drug smuggling, and advised the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.