HMAS Curlew - Decommissioning and Fate

Decommissioning and Fate

The delay in bringing the Bay class minehunters into service kept Curlew operational until 2001. Curlew paid off on 30 April 1990 and was sold on 17 June 1991. The vessel was to operate as a salvage mothership, but was unable to be used as such because one of the main engines was unserviceable. Curlew was used in the films Paradise Road and The Thin Red Line. After several groundings on shallow mudbanks and a short salvage trip to a reef just off the coast of central Queensland, Curlew was sold to a new owner. As of mid-2003, the ship was operating out of Port Huon, Tasmania as a fishing vessel.