The Royal Australian Navy received its first Cape-class patrol boat during a delivery ceremony held at Austal’s Henderson shipyard in Western Australia.
The Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) Cape Fourcroy is the first of two 58 metre patrol vessels that will be chartered by the Commonwealth of Australia on behalf of the Royal Australian Navy, which awarded the A$63 million contract to Austal in December 2015.
Austal CEO David Singleton said the delivery highlights Austal’s capability to design and build defense vessels adding that Cape Fourcroy was the 73rd patrol boat Austal has delivered in Australia and abroad.
“This latest Cape-class, for the Royal Australian Navy, further strengthens Austal’s position as the only patrol boat designer and builder in Australia and a major world class exporter for this class of vessels. The delivery of the Cape Class vessel clearly shows Austal’s unrivalled ability to design and construct defence vessels on-time and on-budget,” Singleton said.
“Austal has been building patrol boats for over 20 years and we look forward to more work in the future. This includes the opportunity to design and build 12 new Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Australian Navy with our design partner Fassmer in a continuous shipbuilding initiative being driven by the Government,” he said.
The Cape-class patrol boats are all aluminium monohull vessels, designed to perform border protection and maritime security tasks, with a top speed of 26 knots and a range of up to 4,000 nautical miles.