HMAS Choules ( L100 ) HMAS " Choules " ( L100 ) is a that served with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ( RFA ) from 2006 to 2011 , before being transferred to the Royal Australian Navy ( RAN ) . The vessel was built as RFA " Largs Bay " by Swan Hunter in Wallsend , Tyne and Wear . She was named after Largs Bay in Ayrshire , Scotland , and entered service in November 2006 . During her career with the RFA , " Largs Bay " served as the British ship assigned to patrol the Falkland Islands in 2008 , and delivered relief supplies following the 2010 Haiti earthquake . At the end of 2010 , " Largs Bay " was marked as one of the vessels to be removed from service under the Strategic Defence and Security Review . She was offered for sale , with the RAN announced as the successful bidder in April 2011 . After modifications to make her more suited for Australian operating conditions , the vessel was commissioned in December 2011 as HMAS " Choules " , named after Chief Petty Officer Claude Choules . Design and construction . The Bay class was designed as a replacement for the logistics ships operated by the RFA . The new design was based on the Royal Schelde Enforcer design ; a joint project between the Dutch and Spanish resulting in the and amphibious warfare ships . The main difference with the British ships is the lack of a helicopter hangar . The ships were originally designated " auxiliary landing ship logistics " or ALSL , but this was changed in 2002 to " landing ship dock ( auxiliary ) " or LSD ( A ) , better reflecting their operational role . Four ships were ordered ; two from Swan Hunter , and two from BAE Systems Naval Ships . The Bay - class ships have a full load displacement of in RFA service ; this increased slightly to after modifications for RAN service . " Largs Bay " / " Choules " is long , with a beam of , and a draught of . Propulsion power is provided by two Wärtsilä 8L26 generators , providing , and two Wärtsilä 12V26 generators , providing . These are used to drive two steerable propulsion pods , with a bow thruster supplementing . Maximum speed is , and the Bay - class ships can achieve a range of at . For self defence , " Largs Bay " was fitted with two Mk . 44 miniguns and six 7 . 62mm L7 GPMG s , plus fitted for but not with a Phalanx CIWS and a 30 mm DS30B cannon . The RAN ' s webpage for " Choules " does not specify any armament . In British service , the everyday ship ' s company consisted of 60 to 70 RFA personnel , with this number supplemented by members of the British Armed Forces when " Largs Bay " was deployed operationally . The RAN opted to maintain the ship at full operational crewing at all times , with a ship ' s company of 158 , including 22 Army and 6 RAAF personnel . As a sealift ship , " Largs Bay " is capable of carrying up to 1 , 150 linear metre s of vehicles ; equivalent to 24 Challenger 2 tanks , 32 M1A1 Abrams tanks , or 150 light trucks . The cargo capacity is equivalent of 200 tons of ammunition , or 24 Twenty - foot equivalent unit containers . During normal conditions , a Bay - class ship can carry 356 soldiers , but this can be almost doubled to 700 in overload conditions . No helicopters are carried on board , but the twin - spot flight deck is capable of handling helicopters up to the size of Chinooks , as well as Merlin helicopters and Osprey tiltrotor aircraft , and a temporary hangar can be fitted as required . The well dock can carry one LCU Mark 10 , one LCM - 8 , or two LCVPs ( either the Royal Marines version or the Royal Australian Navy version ) , and two Mexeflote s can be suspended from the ship ' s flanks . The LCM - 1E landing craft being acquired by the RAN will not fit into the dock . Two 30 - ton cranes are fitted between the superstructure and the flight deck . " Largs Bay " and sister ship were ordered from Swan Hunter on 18 December 2000 . " Largs Bay " was laid down at Swan Hunter ' s shipyard at Wallsend , Tyne and Wear on 28 January 2002 ; the first ship of the class work started on . The ship was launched on 18 July 2003 . The ship was completed and accepted by the Ministry of Defence in April 2006 , over a year late . " Largs Bay " was dedicated on 28 November 2006 , the second of the class to enter service with the RFA . The Bay class construction project saw major delays and cost overruns , particularly in the Swan Hunter half of the project . Shortly after " Largs Bay " was handed over , Swan Hunter was stripped from the project , with BAE taking full responsibility for the class and " Lyme Bay " towed to BAE ' s shipyard in Govan for completion in June 2006 . Operational history . United Kingdom . " Largs Bay " , with and , was involved in training exercises called " South West Scimitar " between 26 February and 8 March 2007 . Four months after entering service an engine room fire resulted in steering and propulsion issues , requiring her to be towed to Plymouth for repairs . In late November 2007 , " Largs Bay " embarked 815 Naval Air Squadron 215 Flight and left home waters for the Caribbean to conduct counter - drug operations . She visited eleven islands including Barbados , Curaçao , Grand Turk , Martinique , Trinidad and also the USA . Three days after leaving Barbados " Largs Bay " s patrolling helicopter spotted a small fishing vessel stopped in the water and detained her after a pursuit ; of cocaine were recovered , with an estimated £20 million European street value . She participated in Navy Day s while in port at Curaçao , where several hundred people toured her . In late 2008 , it was reported that " Largs Bay " was to replace for duties in the Falkland Islands . " Northumberland " was to have left for the Islands in December 2008 , but was instead sent for pirate patrol off Somalia . In early 2010 , " Largs Bay " was deployed to the Arctic Circle . Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake , the ship was pulled from exercises and sailed on 3 February to deliver a load of relief supplies to Haiti . On 18 February 2010 , she arrived at Port - au - Prince and unloaded of supplies plus of rations , while engineers from the ship began work on restoring electricity ashore . On 30 March 2010 , she returned home . " Largs Bay " s actions were recognised in December 2011 with the awarding of the Firmin Sword of Peace . In August 2010 , the ship participated in the Bournemouth Air Festival . Decommissioning and transfer . In December 2010 , it was announced that the ship would be decommissioned in April 2011 as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review . Shortly after marking " Largs Bay " for disposal , the British Ministry of Defence contacted the Chilean government and suggested the vessel as a potential replacement for the landing ship tank vessel " Valdivia " , which was due to leave service . In January 2011 , the Australian Department of Defence announced that it was interested in purchasing the vessel for the RAN as a replacement for the heavy landing ship or one of the amphibious warfare ships . Interest in the ship was also shown by Brazil and India . On 17 March 2011 , the Australian Department of Defence announced that the RAN would be bidding for " Largs Bay " ; this was followed on 6 April by news that a £65 million ( A $ 100 million ) bid had been successful . Sea trials during April showed that the ship was in good condition , although she will have to be modified before entering Australian service , particularly to allow operation in tropical conditions . During a 16 - week docking at the A & P Group shipyard in Falmouth , the modifications were made , along with refit work to maintain the ship ' s LLoyds certification . The RAN also acquired two Mexeflotes , allowing the ship to retain that capability . On 13 August , it was announced that " Largs Bay " would be renamed HMAS " Choules " when commissioned into the RAN . The name comes from Chief Petty Officer Claude Choules , who served in both the Royal Navy and the RAN during his career , and prior to his death in May 2011 , was believed to be the last living participant in World War I . " Choules " is the second RAN vessel to be named after an enlisted sailor , following the submarine . The ship was assigned the pennant number L100 , reflecting the 100th anniversary of the RAN , which occurred in 2011 . Her motto is " Face Difficulty With Zeal " . On 14 October , the vessel was handed over to the RAN . She arrived in Fremantle , Western Australia on 10 December , and was commissioned into the RAN on 13 December . " Choules " entered service in early 2012 , and is based at Fleet Base East . There were plans to fit " Choules " with command and control , navigational , and high - bandwidth communications equipment from by mid - 2012 , after which , the vessel would be declared fully operational . Australia . On 24 February 2012 , " Choules " arrived in Townsville . This was in preparation for a month of amphibious warfare training exercises with 3rd Brigade . In June 2012 , one of the two main electrical transformers involved in the ship ' s propulsion system failed , after an earlier engineers report highlighted " overheating of the propulsion motors and transformers " . Inspection found that insulation failure had short - circuited the transformer , while other transformers aboard showed premature wear . Unable to find an available spare , a new unit had to be ordered from the manufacturer . In June , it was predicted that " Choules " would be out of service for four to five months , but by October , claims were made that the ship would be inoperable until at least January 2013 , and if all of the wear - showing transformers were replaced , she would not return to service until April 2013 . By December , the faulty transformer had been replaced , and the RAN had decided that although the other transformers ( propulsion and others ) had been shown to have acceptable levels of wear , all would be replaced before " Choules " was reactivated . These repairs were completed in early 2013 , and the ship was assessed as ready to re - enter service on 12 April . " Choules " operational role will be reevaluated after the " Canberra " class landing helicopter dock ships enter service in 2016 , but will likely be kept on to fill the role of the strategic sealift ship envisioned by the .