Visayas Archipelago News

Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Tobruk has departed Manila in the Philippines after a four-day visit. The short break gave the ship’s company an opportunity to continue their association with Filipino colleagues. Tobruk’s Commanding Officer, Commannder Leif Maxfield, said the crew had been looking forward to seeing the changes in the region since the ship deployed as part of Operation PHILIPPINES ASSIST. “Nine months ago Tobruk was diverted to support the multi-national relief effort in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan,” Commander Maxfield said. “We spent a month in the region, assisting with clean up tasks at Ormoc schools and distributed aid supplies to remote island communities in the Visayas archipelago.