What goes around comes around is certainly the case of former navy ship, the HMAS Success, which is currently being deconstructed, scrapped and recycled at SIMEC Mining’s Whyalla Port, proving a brilliant example of the circularity of life.

There’s circularity about the port, which previously functioned as a ship-building facility in the early 1940s through to the late 1970s, circularity about the ship’s steel, which is destined to be melted up to form vital new infrastructure, and circularity about the people, a number of whom previously served on the HMAS Success and who are now working with us.

From the local Whyalla region, Scott Ramsay, Lead Maintenance Planning at SIMEC Mining’s Pellet Plant previously served on the HMAS Success from 2002 to 2006 as the Engine Room Petty Officer Marine Technician.

On hearing about the work being undertaken by SIMEC Mining, Scott was pleased about the opportunity it would bring for local workers.

“I am very happy to see her come here for scrapping, as it’s boosting our capabilities and also creates jobs for locals,” Scott said.

Scott also acknowledged the decommissioning brought back a rush of memories from the “Battle Tanker” as she was nicknamed during Scott’s service.

On one assignment, Scott spent 49 days straight at sea, and he said the biggest thing he misses about the navy is the sense of camaraderie.

“When you hold your life in the hands of each other in a team of 200, that’s pretty big,” Scott said.

Given his lengthy connection, Scott was able to visit the “old girl” before she was totally broken apart – check out some photos of Scott below when he served on the Success, and from his latest visit.

A little further afield based in Newcastle, GFG Alliance Safety Manager Mark Underwood served on the HMAS Success as a part of a small Army contingent as a communicator, where he said he was “plunged into Navy life and work, routines and traditions, which was quite the experience for a soldier who likes the feel of soil under his feet and to sit in the shade of a tree”.

When asked about the role of our business in the next stage of the HMAS Success’s journey, Mark said he was pleased the about the sustainable approach being taken to the ship’s decommissioning.

“It is great to know the ship is not going to be sunk or rust away somewhere and that it will live on in steel and the great products made. It does bring back very fond and very vivid memories,” he said.

Mark Underwood and the soldiers trying to come to terms with the close quarters on board (Mark pictured standing in the middle)

Indeed, Scott and Mark are not the only ones optimistic about the opportunity the deconstruction, scrapping and recycling of the HMAS Success presents. SIMEC Mining’s General Manager Operational Transformation Greg McMillan highlighted that the work proved advantageous not only for our mining business, but also the broader region.

“This work is utilising local maritime services and other contractor services, as well as presenting an opportunity for greater scope should we secure more of this kind of work through the Whyalla Port in the future,” Greg said.

“This is the only facility in Australia with the capacity to handle vessels over 200 metres in length, so we hope this unique capability presents a genuine opportunity for ongoing deconstruction, scrapping and recycling operations,” he said.

“In the future, this process could also align with GFG Alliance’s broader GREENSTEEL strategy – creating scrap which can be recycled through GFG’s Australian scrap businesses,” Greg said.

The HMAS Success is the Royal Australian Navy’s longest serving ship and was decommissioned after 33 years of service.

Commissioned in 1986, it has steamed almost one million nautical miles and earned battle honours for serving during the 1991 Gulf War, in East Timor in 1999, and during the search for missing Malaysian Airline Flight 370.