Australian ships pay courtesy visit

             Kochi, May 11, 2009
Two Australian Naval vessels HMAS Sydney and HMAS Ballarat arrived here this morning on a four-day routine visit.HMAS Sydney is one of six guided missile frigates in service in the Royal Australian Navy and has recently been extensively upgraded, according to the Royal naval website.

Commanded by Captain B J Wheeler, Sydney has the ability to provide air defence, anti submarine and anti shipping warfare, surveillance, reconnaissance and can counter simultaneous threats from the air, sea surface and under water. The ship had been deployed in the Middle East four times, including in 'Operation Desert Storm' against Iraq during the 1991 Gulf war. In 2003, she supported the allied forces in the war against Iraq.HMAS Ballarat is an Anzac class frigate and had been deployed in the Persian Gulf in 2006.

The crew of the two vessels are expected to interact with personnel of the Indian navy at the Southern Naval Command and conduct joint naval exercises.