The Royal Australian Navy has deployed ships to the Middle East over 57 times since 1990. These ships have participated in the 1991 Gulf War, enforced sanctions against Iraq, taken part in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and provided security for Iraq's oil exports. Since 2009 Australian ships have also been involved in counter piracy operations.
The dates provided are the dates the ship arrived and departed from the Middle East Area of Operations. Please see the Database of Royal Australian Navy Operations 1990–2005 for the dates the ships arrived and departed from Australia. Except where otherwise noted, all ships mainly operated in the Persian Gulf.
Deployments ShipOperation(s)ArrivedDepartedNotesAdelaideDamask I3 September 19903 December 1990Gulf of OmanDarwinDamask I3 September 19903 December 1990Gulf of OmanSuccessDamask I/II3 September 199025 January 1990SydneyDamask II3 December 199026 March 1991BrisbaneDamask II3 December 199026 March 1991WestraliaDamask II/III25 January 1991June 1991DarwinDamask III13 June 19914 September 1991SydneyDamask IV25 September 199131 January 1992Red SeaDarwinDamask V11 March 199216 July 1992Red SeaCanberraDamask VI13 November 199212 March 1993Red SeaSydneyDamask VII30 July 19939 November 1993Red SeaMelbourneDamask VIII7 May 199615 August 1996MelbourneDamask IX30 May 199913 August 1999AnzacDamask X/Slipper30 July 2001November 2001SydneySlipper9 November 200123 February 2002AdelaideSlipper2 December 20014 March 2002KanimblaSlipper2 December 20014 March 2002CanberraSlipper14 March 20028 July 2002ManooraSlipper28 February 200224 June 2002NewcastleSlipper8 February 200224 June 2002MelbourneSlipper24 June 20028 November 2002AruntaSlipper8 July 200220 November 2002AnzacSlipper/Bastille/Falconer8 November 200227 April 2003DarwinSlipper/Bastille/Falconer10 November 200226 April 2003KanimblaBastille/Falconer13 February 200314 June 2003SydneyFalconer/Catalyst29 April 20032 August 2003ManooraFalconer3 June 200316 June 2003Returned equipment to AustraliaNewcastleCatalyst5 August 200317 November 2003MelbourneCatalyst27 October 20031 April 2004StuartCatalyst3 April 200413 August 2004AdelaideCatalyst13 July 200412 January 2005DarwinCatalyst12 January 200511 June 2005TobrukCatalystMay 2005?16 May 2005Transported the Al Muthanna Task Group's vehicles to KuwaitNewcastleCatalyst14 June 2005November 2005ParramattaCatalystNovember 2005March 2006BallaratCatalystMarch 2006August 2006WarramungaCatalystJuly 2006January 2007?TobrukCatalyst and SlipperJanuary 2007?March 2007?Transported military stores and equipment ToowoombaAustralian Department of Defence media release HMAS Toowoomba welcomed home. 2 July 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2007CatalystJanuary 2007June 2007AnzacParliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence media release. HMAS Anzac Departs for Persian Gulf . 1 June 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2007CatalystJune 2007?December 2007Australian Department of Defence media release HMAS Anzac returns to HMAS Stirling from the Persian Gulf. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2007.AruntaCatalystDecember 2007April 2008StuartCatalystApril 2008August 2008ParramattaCatalystAugust 200823 January 2009WarramungaSlipper23 January 2009June 2009last ship assigned exclusively in the Persian GulfToowoombaSlipperJune 2009November 2009first ship to be assigned to anti-piracy, off SomaliaStuartSlipperNovember 2009April 2010anti-piracyParramattaSlipperApril 2010October 2010anti-piracyMelbourneSlipperOctober 2010January 2011anti-piracyStuartSlipperJanuary 2011June 2011anti-piracyMelbourneSlipperFebruary 2012July 2012anti-piracyAnzacSlipperJuly 2012January 2013anti-piracy/anti-terrorismToowoombaSlipperJanuary 2013April 2013anti-piracyDarwinSlipper/ManitouFebruary 2014August 2014anti-piracy – last warlike/Slipper deployment
Notes
References Vanessa Bendle (Principal author), David Griffin, Peter Laurence, Richard McMillan, Brett Mitchell, Greg Nash, John Perryman, David Stevens, Nial Wheate Database of Royal Australian Navy Operations 1990–2005. Seapower Centre – Australia. Greg Nash and David Stevens (2006) Australia's Navy in the Gulf. From Countenance to Catalyst, 1941–2006. Topmill, Sydney.