The two ships were based at Fleet Base East. The "Kanimbla"s operated primarily in South East Asian regions, and were usually the first asset deployed by the Australian government during regional emergencies. Both ships deployed to the Solomon Islands in 2000–01 in support of operations there, while "Kanimbla" took part in disaster relief operations in Vanuatu in 2001. They have since participated in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, the Australian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and the Australian deployment to East Timor following the 2006 political crisis, among other deployments. Two helicopters have crashed while operating from "Kanimbla"; a Sea King which crashed off the island of Nias in Indonesia on 2 April 2005 killing nine personnel, and an S-70A Blackhawk helicopter which crashed in international waters off Fiji on 29 November 2006 during Operation Quickstep, killing the pilot and a trooper from the Special Air Service Regiment.