MV Stoker
| Class overview | |
| Builders | Damen Song Cam Shipyards, Vietnam |
|---|---|
| Operators | DMS Maritime |
| History | |
 Australia | |
| Namesake | Lieutenant Henry Stoker |
| Launched | 21 May 2015 |
| Homeport | Fleet Base West |
| Identification | Call sign: VJN4918 VJN4918 |
| Status | in active service |
MV Stoker is a Royal Australian Navy merchant vessel (MV) auxiliary ship. Constructed in Vietnam, and launched in 2015, MV Stoker is meant for submarine rescue.[1] In mid-2023, MV Stoker found the wreck of the USS Edsall off the coast of Christmas Island during an unrelated mission.[2][3]
Construction and naming
[edit]MV Stoker was constructed by the Damen Song Cam Shipyards, located in Haiphong, Vietnam, and was launched on May 21, 2015. The merchant vessel was purpose built, along with her sister MV Besant, for supporting submarines and their missions. Each ship contains an LR5 submarine rescue system submersible, a decompression chamber, and enhanced on-board medical facilities. Each ship can support a full complement of a submarine crew.[1]
MV Stoker is named after Lieutenant Henry Stoker, the Commanding Officer of the WW1 submarine HMAS AE2.[1]
Service history
[edit]MV Stoker began service at some point after its launch day of May 21, 2015. It is currently still in service.[2][3]
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Discovery of the USS Edsall
[edit]USS Edsall was a Clemson-class destroyer in service during World War 2. She was sunk by a combined Japanese air and naval attack off the coast of Christmas Island, approximately 200 miles east, on 1 March 1942, 3 months after the Attack on Pearl Harbor.[2] The lives of 200 servicemen were lost in the sinking of the vessel. The exact resting place of the USS Edsall was unknown, as she was alone in combat when she sunk, and the only records of her fight were maintained by the Imperial Japanese Navy.
During an unrelated, undisclosed mission off the coast of Christmas Island in mid-2023[4], the MV Stoker discovered the final resting place of the USS Edsall. It was located by "advanced robotic and autonomous systems normally used for hydrographic survey capabilities", according to Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, head of the Royal Australian Navy. Despite being located in mid-2023, the announcement of the wreck's discovery was delayed until late 2024 to coencide with Veterans Day in the US and Remembrance Day in the UK/Australia.[2][3][4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "MV Stoker". Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
- ^ a b c d "U.S.S. Edsall, sunk World War II ship known as 'Dancing Mouse,' [sic] found 80 years on". NBC News. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
- ^ a b c "The USS Edsall, sunk by Japanese forces in World War II, has been found". NPR. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ a b "WWII Destroyer Fought Enemy Alone, Then Flipped the Bird". Newser via MSN. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
