Austal hands over 21st Guardian-class patrol boat to Australia

Shipbuilder Austal Australia has delivered the 21st Guardian-class patrol boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense.

The vessel, Te Mataili III, was accepted by the Commonwealth of Australia by Matt Keogh, Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans Affairs, and then gifted to the Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu, represented by Prime Minister Feleti Teo. The handover ceremony was held at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia on October 16, 2024.

Te Mataili III will replace Te Mataili II, a Guardian-class patrol boat that was gifted to Tuvalu in 2019 and operated successfully until damaged beyond economic repair during twin cyclones that hit Vanuatu in 2023.   

The 39.5-metre steel monohull patrol boat – designed, constructed and sustained by Austal Australia – is based on a design platform that has included the 38-metre Bay-class, 56-metre Armidale-class and 58-metre Cape-class patrol boats that are in service with the Australian Border Force and Royal Australian Navy.

Faster than the previous Pacific-class patrol boats, with improved seakeeping, better amenities, and an enhanced mission capability – including an integrated RHIB stern launch and recovery system – the Guardian-class patrol boats will carry out border patrols, regional policing, search and rescue, and many other operations, according to Austal.

The Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project was awarded to Austal Australia in May 2016, with subsequent contract options awarded in April 2018, November 2022 and June 2024, taking the project to 24 vessels, valued at more than A$400 million, in total.

In July this year, Austal delivered the 20th Guardian-class patrol boat to Australia. The vessel, Tobwaan Mainiku, for the Republic of Kiribati, was accepted by representatives of the Department of Defense at the Austal shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia.