Mr Vance Hanty abandoned maritime group (8,4)

I believe the answer is:

merchant navy

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'maritime group' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'mr vance hanty abandoned' is the wordplay.
'abandoned' indicates anagramming the letters (the original order is abandoned).
'mr'+'vance'+'hanty'='mrvancehanty'
'mrvancehanty' with letters rearranged gives 'MERCHANT NAVY'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for merchant navy that I've seen before include "Service of the Red Ensign" , "Commercial shipping fleet" , "UK's commercial shipping" , "A country's commercial shipping" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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