Service and Disposal
The LCM 2000s were accepted into service with the Army in December 2005. It was planned that the craft would be operated by the 10th Force Support Battalion from its base at Townsville, Queensland. However, trials conducted with the LPAs found that the craft were too wide for personnel to safely move past when they were embarked. As a result, the LCM2000s were only used for training purposes and minor exercises conducted near Townsville, Darwin and other locations in northern Australia, and spent most of their careers laid up at the Rosshaven marina in Townsville. These trials and training activities were suspended for a period commencing August 2007 while structural issues were rectified. The Army hoped to either use the LCM2000s with the RAN's Canberra class landing helicopter dock when these ships entered service or for other secondary tasks, but the craft were determined to be unsuitable for these purposes.
On 15 October 2010 the project to bring the LCM2000s into service was placed on the Australian Government's defence 'projects of concern' list. On 1 February 2011 the Government announced that the LCM2000 project had been cancelled and the craft would be disposed of. In his media release, the Minister for Defence Materiel stated that "the dimensions and weight of the watercraft meant they were unsuitable to be launched from these ships and are not fit for alternative Australian Defence Force use" as the main reasons for the project's cancellation. The Minister for Defence also stated that the project had cost A$40 million and it "was not a project which Defence covered itself in glory". The craft were reported to still be laid up at the Rosshaven marine yard in January 2012, but the Government listed them for disposal the next month.
Read more about this topic: LCM2000 Class Landing Craft Mechanised
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