HMAS Boonaroo (also known as MV Boonaroo) was an Australian National Lines

Australian National Lines

The Australian National Line was an Australian Government owned overseas and coastal shipping line that operated in Australia between 1956 and 1998, when the container shipping operations and naming rights were bought by French shipping line CMA CGM....

 cargo vessel used to support Australian forces fighting in the Vietnam War

Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War

Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began as a small commitment of 30 men in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australians deployed in South Vietnam or in support of Australian forces there. The Vietnam War was the longest and most controversial war Australia...

. She was the first Australian ship to be commissioned after the introduction of the Australian White Ensign.

Construction and civilian history

Boonaroo was constructed for Australian National Lines by Mort's Dock and Engineering in Sydney. The ship was completed in 1953, and operated as a merchant vessel until she was chartered by the Department of Shipping and Transport in 1966 to carry Australian soldiers and supplies to Vietnam. She completed one voyage to Vietnam as a merchant vessel, leaving on 17 May 1966 and arriving back in Australia on 8 July 1966. However, the Seamen's Union of Australia

Seamen's Union of Australia

The Seamen's Union of Australia was the principal trade union for merchant seamen in Australia from 1876 to the 1991. Australian seamen were forerunners of maritime trade unionism. Efforts to form trade unions amongst merchant seamen trading out of Australian ports can be traced back to 1874, with...

 refused to crew the vessel for subsequent voyages in protest against Australia's involvement in the conflict.

RAN service

To keep the ship operational, she was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 (RAN) on 1 March 1967, and became the first Australian ship to be commissioned under Australian White Ensign. The crew was replaced by RAN personnel, and departed Port Wilson, Victoria on 10 March with a cargo of munitions for the Royal Australian Air Force

Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

 and general cargo for the support and establishment of Australian forces in Vietnam, including prefabricated kitchen structures, telegraph poles, and a fuel tanker.

Boonaroo arrived in Cam Ranh Bay

Cam Ranh Bay

Cam Ranh Bay is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in the province of Khánh Hòa. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilometers / 180 miles northeast of Hồ Chí Minh City / Saigon.Cam Ranh is...

 on 28 March, and over the next five days was unloaded, leaving Vietnam waters on 3 April. She arrived in Sydney on 29 April. The cargo ship left Sydney for Melbourne on 3 May, arrived on 5 May, and was decommissioned from RAN service on 8 May. Boonaroo was returned to Australian National Lines.

Following a reorganisation of RAN battle honour

Battle honour

A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....

s, Boonaroo was retroactively awarded the honour "Vietnam 1967".

Later career and fate

In January 1971, she was sold to Collin Navigation Co., S. A. Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 and renamed Collin Four and in 1972 transferred to a subsidiary company. The ship was sold to Uni-Ocean Lines Pty Ltd, Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 in February 1976 and renamed Reunion and again sold in November 1977 to United Orient Lines Ltd, Singapore.

She was scrapped at Chittagong

Chittagong

Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

in November 1985.