When HMAS Kanimbla lost power entering Sydney Harbour in September 2010 due to a minor fire, the incident cast a public spotlight on serious shortcomings in the maintenance of the Australian navy's fleet. This precipitated a full scale inquiry that exposed the high level of risk caused by the loss of engineering capability by government agencies. The inquiry into support ship repair and maintenance practices, led by Paul Rizzo, identified a systematic, institutional erosion of naval engineering capability that had occurred over a long period of time. This was a key causal factor in the early retirement of the Kanimbla and its sister ship, HMAS Manoora.
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