HMAS Moresby, named for the explorer Captain John Moresby

John Moresby

Captain John Moresby was a British Naval Officer who explored the coast of New Guinea and discovered the site of Port Moresby.Moresby was born in Allerford, Somerset, England, the son of Admiral Sir Fairfax Moresby...

, was a hydrographic survey ship of 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). Serving in the RAN from 1964 to 1999, Moresby was then sold into civilian service. Renamed MV Patricia Anne Hotung, the ship was chartered by the International Organisation for Migration.

Construction

Moresby was launched at the State Dockyard, Newcastle

Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

 on 7 September 1963 by the wife of Rear Admiral Gatacre. She was commissioned into the RAN on 6 March 1964. Moresby was the only ship of her class to be constructed.

Operational history

Throughout her career in the RAN, Moresby sailed over 1 million miles, and carried out surveys of Torres Strait

Torres Strait

The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...

, the D’Entrecasteaux Channel in Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

, Exmouth Gulf

Exmouth Gulf

Exmouth Gulf is a gulf in the north west of Western Australia. It lies between North West Cape and the main coastline of Western Australia. It is considered to be part of the region of the North West Shelf and in the Canning Basin area.-Environment:...

, Wilsons Promontory

Wilsons Promontory

Wilsons Promontory is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland and is located at . South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promontory and hence of mainland Australia...

 and the Gulf of Papua

Gulf of Papua

The Gulf of Papua is a 400 kilometer wide region on the south shore of New Guinea. Some of New Guinea's largest rivers, such as the Fly River, Turama River, Kikori River and Purari River, flow into the gulf, making it a large delta. While the western coast is characterized by swampy tidal...

.

Decommissioning and civilian service

In September 1999 Moresby was sold to Chinese business interests and renamed MV Patricia Anne Hotung, after the wife of chairman of Hotung Institute of International Affairs Mr Eric Hotung. Mr Hotung reportedly spent over A$1 million on a refit enabling the 95 metres (311.7 ft) ship to carry 850 passengers

Patricia Anne Hotung was chartered by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and transported approximately 10,000 refugees from the West Timor

West Timor

West Timor is the western and Indonesian portion of the island of Timor and part of the province of East Nusa Tenggara, .During the colonial period it was known as "Dutch Timor" and was a centre of Dutch loyalists during the Indonesian National Revolution...

 camps to East Timor

East Timor

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...

between January 2000 and 24 July 2001. IOM Director General Brunson McKinley described the ship's role as "invaluable" and "a remarkable contribution to the international humanitarian effort to bring East Timorese refugees home to begin rebuilding their devastated country"