PHI'S BROOME BASE TURNS 5

PHI’s Broome Base in Western Australia recently celebrated five years of successful operations. The base has come a long way since a small team set up the operations in March 2017, with the first offshore flight for INPEX conducted in April of that year.

Initially, there were 41 employees and two aircraft at the base, which has now grown to 95 employees and seven aircraft.

19 flights were completed during the first month and it was a busy time with many hurdles to overcome. Fortunately, we had a great team of people on the ground. Together they had a wealth of experience, coming from a variety of backgrounds and locations across the world.

In June 2017, our Broome base then transitioned to support the full INPEX contract, and the flying rate increased to roughly 17 flights per week. This has now increased to more than 70 flights per month.

In November 2017, PHI won the Search and Rescue (SAR) and Medevac services contract to support INPEX and Shell in the Browse Basin.

Initially, limited SAR services were provided, but 24/7 full SAR capabilities followed shortly after, with the full all-weather search and rescue aircraft arriving in April 2018.

Since the start of the SAR contract, the base has not only provided ongoing coverage for INPEX and Shell but has also provided search and rescue assistance to the local community with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

The base has assisted AMSA in rescue operations for overturned vessels, beacon activation searches, sinking vessels and even a light aircraft engine shutdown, just to name a few.

To support the growing operation, in April 2020, the base repositioned from several smaller hangars and a standby house, into a second large hangar.

The relocation project took a considerable amount of planning and effort from everybody involved, but it allowed for the continuous growth of PHI’s operations.

As a result of Covid-19, in April 2020, INPEX requested the passenger transfer operations temporarily relocate to Truscott, a small airfield located in the remote Kimberley.

Despite the many challenges that needed to be overcome, such as no road access or phone service, the base relocated in just 12 days. Operations successfully continued for 10 months, before heading back to Broome.

In September 2020, the base welcomed a new aircraft type, the Leonardo AW139. This was the first AW139 for PHI operations in Australia and its mobilisation was only possible thanks to the hard work and many hours that the team put in.

The aircraft was brought into the Broome operations in support of INPEX, but it has also provided a number of flights to assist the local community—including the delivery of supplies to remote areas after flooding and assisting with the distribution of Covid-19 vaccinations to communities.

Over the past five years, the base has achieved:

21,758 Flight Hours

90,885 Passengers Transported

4972 Offshore Flights

Broome Base's History at a glance:

June 2017 - Transition to support full INPEX contract

November 2017 - PHI won the Search and Rescue Medevac services contract to support INPEX and Shell in the Browse Basin

April 2018 - Full all-weather search and rescue aircraft arrived at the base

April 2020 - Base relocation from several small hangars into a large hangar

September 2020 - Arrival of the Leonardo AW139, the first for PHI’s operations in Australia, which was also used to assist with the distribution of Covid-19 vaccinations to remote communities

September 2021 - SAR operation moved from sub-contract arrangement to a full complement of in-house crew

September 2021 - Introduction of SAR Cadetship