Acquisition
In the early 1990s, the RAN initiated a procurement project to replace HMAS Jervis Bay with a dedicated training and helicopter support ship. Meeting the vague specifications of the project required a purpose-built vessel at an approximate cost of A$500 million. The high cost of the project led to its cancellation by the Minister for Defence in 1993, with the instructions to find a cheaper alternative. At around the same time, the United States Navy (USN) began plans to decommission fifteen of their twenty Newport class tank landing ships, offering them for purchase by various countries.
In 1994, the RAN elected to purchase two Newports: US Ships Saginaw and Fairfax County for the combined price of A$61 million (US$40 million), with the intention of converting each into a combined pocket helicopter carrier and amphibious warfare transport. Saginaw was to decommission in the US and be immediately recommissioned into the RAN as HMAS Kanimbla, and sailed to Australia by a RAN crew, while Fairfax County was to travel to Australia with a USN crew before decommissioning and recommissioning as HMAS Manoora. Prior to Saginaw's decommissioning, a RAN crew was sent to Norfolk, Virginia for training aboard the vessel.
Saginaw was decommissioned on 28 June 1994, but instead of being immediately recommissioned as HMAS Kanimbla, it was announced at the decommissioning ceremony that the United States Congress had decided not to release the ships into foreign service. This last-minute move was part of a sale blockage for the fifteen surplus Newports to nine nations, and was caused by the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services in an attempt to pressure US President Bill Clinton on the perceived running-down of the USN's amphibious warfare capability, as well as the concerns of one Senator over human rights in Morocco (one of the other nations slated to acquire a ship). The sale to Australia was not approved until the start of August and Saginaw commissioned as HMAS Kanimbla on 29 August 1994.
Read more about this topic: Kanimbla Class Landing Platform Amphibious
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