The Royal Australian Navy has celebrated the completion of 25 years of service by HMAS Newcastle at a ceremony to decommission the ship at her home port of Garden Island in Sydney.

Since commissioning in 1993, Newcastle had steamed around 815,000 nautical miles, deployed on operations to the Middle East six times; earned battle honours for her service in East Timor, the Persian Gulf and the Middle East; and conducted peacekeeping operations in the Solomon Islands.

Newcastle also undertook a number of humanitarian operations, including rescuing two injured yachtsman from the Solo Global Challenger in the tragic 1998 Sydney to Hobart yacht race and rescuing the crew of Ocean Rowing Boat Transventure in 2003.

Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC, said that Newcastle had been essential in protecting Australia’s maritime interests.

Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Michael Noonan AO, RAN said the Ship’s Company were honoured to be the last crew to serve in Newcastle and was pleased the occasion could be shared with many former Ship’s Company, who attended the decommissioning ceremony.

HMAS Newcastle is being decommissioned to make way for the Hobart class guided missile destroyers, which will provide Australia with an improved war fighting capability.