Another rare sight is happening this weekend when a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) minehunter known as HMAS Gascoyne berths in Port Kembla for the first time in almost seven years.

HMAS Gascoyne is part of the mine warfare clearance diving fleet.

It will be here for two days and among the crew of 46 sailors are two Wollongong residents, a clearance diver and an officer.

HMAS Gascoyne is presently doing exercises up and down the eastern seaboard. It recently found the wreckage of a pilot's small plane that crashed into the ocean three months ago.

It also engages in many top secret missions.

Commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Alan Parton said the crew were really looking forward to the visit.

“Gascoyne is a minehunter and has been to Port Kembla before in 2008 or 2009, “ he said.

“The visit is part of the respite for the crew. Recently we helped the Ballina Police search for the missing Cessna in Byron Bay which we found.”

HMAS Gascoyne is the fourth of the six Huon Class Minehunters built for the Royal Australian Navy.

She was launched in March 2000 and is based in Sydney.

She is considered to be a large minehunter by world standards, weighing in at 720 tonnes, is 52.5 metre long, is powered by a V8 diesel engine, can reach a speed of 14 knots and has a range of 1600 nautical miles.

HMAS Gascoyne is the second RAN ship to carry the name. The original was Australia's first River Class anti-submarine frigate that served with distinction during World War II.

In October 1944 the original Gascoyne experienced 39 air attacks and saw 30 Japanese aircraft destroyed while surveying for the US landings at Leyte Gulf.

In July 1945, she provided bombardment support for the Australian troop landings in the Balikpapan area of Borneo.