Bandicoot-class minesweeper

The Bandicoot class is a ship class of two minesweeper tugboats operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). MSA Bandicoot and MSA Wallaroo originally were built in 1982 for Maritime (PTE) Ltd. as the tugboats Grenville VII and Grenville V. In 1990, the RAN purchased the vessels for conversion into auxiliary minesweepers under the Craft of Opportunity Program (COOP). The vessels can be equipped with a sidescan sonar and various towed minesweeping arrays, and also function as berthing tugs. Both vessels were placed in reserve in 2010, but have deployed on several occasions since to provide berthing support to nuclear-powered warships.

Design and construction
Bandicoot and Wallaroo were initially built by Mipe Shipbuilding for Singaporean company Maritime (PTE) Ltd. as the tugboats Grenville VII and Grenville V, and entered service in 1982. The two tugboats were purchased by the RAN for the Craft of Opportunity Program (COOP) on 3 and 8 August 1990, and were delivered on 11 August 1990. The tugboats underwent conversion to serve as auxiliary minesweepers, with modifications completed by mid-1991.

Each vessel displaces 412 tonnes at full load, is 29.6 m in length, has a beam of 8.5 m, and a draught of 3.4 m. Propulsion machinery consists of two Stork Werkspoor diesel engines, each connected to a propeller shaft. Maximum speed is 11 kn, and range is 6,300 nmi at 10 kn. They are equipped with a Furuno 7040D I-band navigational radar. The ships initially had a towing capacity rated at a bollard pull of 30 tons, but this was removed during the COOP conversion. Ten to twelve personnel are required to operate each ship.

Role
Bandicoot and Wallaroo primarily operated as a supplementary minesweeping force. In this role, they were equipped with a Klein Type 590 sidescan sonar array, along with a Mini-Dyad magnetic influence sweep array, an AMASS influence sweep array, or mechanical minesweeping gear. The vessels are also used as berthing tugs, primarily for foreign warships.

Operational history
During 2001, Bandicoot and Wallaroo were involved in Operation Bel Isi, the Australian commitment to the Bougainville Peace Monitoring Group.

In 2008, it was predicted that both ships would leave service in 2012.

On 1 October 2010, both vessels were placed in reserve, able to be reactivated in 30 days and able to deploy in 42. Although no longer used for minesweeping operations, the tugboats have deployed on several occasions to provide berthing support for visiting nuclear-powered warships.