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You are here: Home / On This Day / Australian Naval History on 24 August 2001

Australian Naval History on 24 August 2001

On This Day · Aug 24, 2001 · Print This Page

HMAS CANBERRA and HMAS WARRAMUNGA, (guided missile frigates), with HMAS MANOORA (landing platform amphibious), arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for a good will visit.

A team of RAN and RAAF personnel were deployed to Christmas Island, to conduct a search of the Old European Cemetery, to find the remains of a sailor buried there in February 1942. The remains floated ashore in a Carley float in early February 1942, and are believed to have come from HMAS SYDNEY, (cruiser), which was sunk in November 1941. Despite an extensive search of a portion of the cemetery, no remains were found, and the search party departed on 7 September.

A dilapidated 20 metre wooden fishing boat named the PALAPA, with 433 mainly Afghan refugees on board, and 27 Indonesian crew members, was located in a position some 75 nautical miles to the north of Christmas Island. The vessel was attempting to reach Christmas Island where the refugees would claim political asylum. The Norwegian cargo ship MV TAMPA, then en-route to Singapore, was directed to rescue the passengers and crew. This was the opening phase in an action that became known as the TAMPA Affair and had wide ranging implication for the RAN and Australian Government.

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