HMAS Anzac seen here in the Sydney Harbour. The ship was decommissioned on 18 May 2024. (Janes/Russell Smith)

Australia has decommissioned its lead Anzac (MEKO 200)-class guided-missile frigate.

The vessel, which saw service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as HMAS Anzac, was formally retired in a decommissioning ceremony on 18 May at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia.

Prior to its decommissioning, Anzac was the longest-serving commissioned vessel in service with the RAN, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) noted in an 18 May statement to mark the retirement.

“Decommissioning HMAS Anzac will pave the way for the long-term investment in enlarging and enhancing [the] navy's fleet, in response to the recommendations made by the independent analysis of [the] navy's surface combatant fleet,” the statement added.

Anzac was commissioned by the RAN in May 1996 and is one of seven frigates in the class operated by the service.

The frigate displaces about 3,800 tonnes at full load and it has an overall length of 118 m, an overall beam of 14.8 m, and a hull draught of 4.5 m.

FGS Karlsruhe is the third of five follow-on K130 corvettes on order for the German Navy. (Michael Nitz, Naval Press Service)

The third follow-on Braunschweig (K130)-class corvette on order for the German Navy was launched at NV Lürssen (NVL) subsidiary Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg on 7 May, NVL Group announced the same day.

FGS Karlsruhe is the third boat of the second batch of five additional corvettes for the German Navy. The German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) ordered the five follow-on vessels from the ARGE K130 consortium, led by NVL Group and including thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (tkMS) and German Naval Yards Kiel (GNYK), under a contract worth more than EUR 2.2 billion (USD2.39 billion) in September 2017.

Following its launch, Karlsruhe will now enter the final outfitting phase. Its four sister ships, meanwhile, are at various stages of construction at Blohm+Voss's shipyard.

Due to information technology (IT) security challenges with the command and weapon control system the entire programme is running behind schedule. Originally all five second batch corvettes should already have been delivered to the customer.

The Dutch MoD has leased a second ro-ro ship, named MV Southern Rock , which will be operated by the RNLN to secure strategic transport on a more permanent basis. (Dutch MoD)

The Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) has officially put into service a second roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ship, which it has leased from a private company as part of efforts to secure strategic transport on a permanent basis.

The ship, named MV Southern Rock , arrived in Dakar, Senegal, on 15 May with its first load of equipment for US Africa Command's (AFRICOM's) joint multinational Exercise ‘African Lion 2024', the MoD announced the same day.

The lease contract for Southern Rock will initially run for a year, with the option to extend on an annual basis up to three times for a maximum of four years' operation.

Southern Rock is owned by Dutch shipping company Hartman Seatrade, which started operating the new ro-ro vessel in 2023. It was built by a partnership between Dutch shipbuilders Neptune Marine and Hartman Marine Shipbuilding, and Poland's Partner Shipyard, where the hull was completed.