1200-ton Oil Fuel Lighter


The 1200-ton Oil Fuel Lighter was a class of oil fuel lighters built for the Royal Australian Navy between 1940 and 1946.

Design

The lighters were in length and beam and cost about £38,940 each to build. The vessels did not have engines. At the time the first ship of the class was ordered for the Royal Australian Navy, it was to be the largest lighter ever built in Australia. While OFL 1201 was completed in 1940, the other vessels in the class were not completed until 1945 or 1946.
The lighters were capable of carrying up to 1,204 tons of oil fuel, which was transferred to other vessels using four pumps. The lighters were also fitted with accommodation spaces and a galley on their upper deck, and carried a dinghy.

Oil fuel lighters

Eight ships of the class were eventually constructed, of which two were allocated names.
OFLs 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204, 1207 and 1208 remained in use with the Royal Australian Navy as of 1983. By this time 1205 and 1206 had been sold.