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A back-up generator is powering the Canberra Class vessel after it experienced an outage following the delivery of humanitarian relief support to Tonga.
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Defence has confirmed reports of a power outage aboard Royal Australian Navy vessel HMAS Adelaide, which has been delivering supplies to Tonga following the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano and subsequent tsunami.
The Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) has activated back-up power to restore essential functions, including refrigeration and sanitation systems.
Defence has dismissed media reports suggesting the ship’s food supplies have been adversely affected by the outage, and has stressed the vessel is not under tow and was not under tow while in or near Tonga.
Air conditioning is also operational in “most areas of the ship”.
“The situation is being closely monitored and the safety of the ship and the embarked personnel remains our highest priority,” Defence noted in a statement.
“… The power outage has not affected Australia’s ability to support requests from the government of Tonga to assist their recovery efforts.
Civilian specialists have been sent to HMAS Adelaide to conduct an assessment of the affected systems.
Commander of HMAS Adelaide, Captain Stuart Watters, has told the media the crew aboard the vessel are safe despite challenging conditions.
"We want to thank the technical team for their hard work in hot and difficult conditions which is enabling us to complete our task and restore services and communications,” he said in a statement to the ABC.
HMAS Adelaide has helped deliver more than 40 tonnes of emergency relief supplies to Tonga, including shelter materials, water and sanitation supplies, equipment to restore communications and personal protective equipment for those clearing debris.
The Commonwealth recently pledged an additional $2 million in humanitarian funding ahead of the next phase of Tonga’s recovery, bringing the total contribution to $3 million.
[Related: RAAF C-17A Globemaster transports AUSMAT team to Solomon Islands]
