1995–2003 During 1995, personnel from Kanimbla participated in celebrations for the 50th anniversaries of Victory in Europe Day and Victory in the Pacific Day. In April 1999, personnel from Kanimbla, Manoora, and Sydney bases assisted the New South Wales Department of Agriculture in containing an outbreak of Newcastle disease in Mangrove Mountain poultry farms. Between April and June 2001, Kanimbla was sent to Vanuatu to provide disaster relief assistance following the eruption of the Lopevi volcano. After this, from 2 June to 8 August 2001, the ship was deployed to the Solomon Islands to support the International Peace Monitoring Team following the signing of the Townsville Peace Agreement. Following this, Kanimbla operated in support of the Peace Monitoring Group (PMG) in Bougainville. This was a short term assignment at the end of the Solomon Islands deployment to assist with backload of PMG equipment to Australia. On 2 December 2001, Kanmibla and the frigate were deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Slipper, to enforce UN trade sanction against Iraq. This deployment concluded on 4 March 2002. The ship returned to the Gulf on 13 February 2003. During this deployment, which concluded on 14 June, she was involved in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, served as a command-and-control ship during operations in the northern waters of the Gulf, and helped deliver relief supplies to Baghdad. The ship received a Meritorious Unit Citation on 27 November 2003 for her service during this deployment. 2004–2006 On 30 December 2004, Kanimbla sailed as part of Operation Sumatra Assist, the Australian contribution to relief efforts following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. The ship's involvement ended on 26 March 2005, and she sailed to Singapore, but was redeployed three days later after a new earthquake off the Sumatran coast. On 2 April, a Sea King helicopter operating from Kanimbla crashed on the island of Nias, killing nine of the eleven personnel aboard; the single deadliest incident in the Australian Defence Force since 1996. Operations did not conclude until 13 April. In May 2006, Kanimbla was deployed to East Timor as part of Operation Astute, the Australian response to the 2006 East Timorese crisis. The ship remained in the area until late July.<ref>Australian Associated Press, Peacekeepers to check weapons in E Timor</ref> At the start of November 2006, Kanimbla, , and sailed to Fiji as part of Operation Quickstep, the ADF response to