Austal Limited (Austal) (ASX:ASB) has delivered Cape Leveque, the sixth of eight Cape Class Patrol Boats being supplied to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service under a $330 million design, build and in-service support contract, the shipbuilding company said in a press release.
Cape Leveque is named after the northernmost tip of the Dampier Peninsula in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Austal Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bellamy said that with three quarters of the Cape Class fleet now delivered, Austal continued to demonstrate its credentials as a partner of choice for government defence vessel programs.
The remaining two Cape Class vessels are moving into the final stages of construction and will be delivered progressively through to late 2015, in line with the contract.
Austal was awarded the contract for the design, construction and through-life support of the Cape Class patrol boats for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service in August 2011. The eight 58 metre aluminium monohulls are due to be delivered between March 2013 and August 2015.
The support contract extends for a minimum period of eight years and encompasses a full range of intermediate and depot level maintenance activities. Further options can be exercised by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service for In-Service Support for the life of the Cape Class Patrol Boat Fleet.
The Cape Class Patrol Boats will have greater range, endurance and flexibility in responding to maritime security threats than the current fleet.
These vessels will also have enhanced capability to operate in higher sea states and survive in more severe conditions.
The Cape Class Patrol Boats will be able to:
- Undertake 28 day patrols;
- Sail 4,000 nautical miles before having to refuel;
- Combat the full range of maritime security threats;
- Carry an increased crew to more effectively and safely manage boarding operations;
- Identify, track and intercept an extended range of threats in the maritime domain and gather intelligence and store evidence for matters that may proceed to the courts; and
- Launch two Tender Response Vessels simultaneously.
- Customs and Border Protection patrol boats may be deployed according to aerial surveillance, community reports and/or radar sightings.
The patrol boats may be used to:
- Counter people, drug and weapons smuggling;
- Apprehend foreign fishing vessels;
- Gather information and intelligence;
- Monitor environmental pollution; and
- Assist management of offshore nature reserves and marine parks.
About Austal
Austal is a global defence prime contractor and a designer and manufacturer of defence and commercial ships. For more than 25 years Austal has been a leader in the design, construction and maintenance of revolutionary ships for Governments, Navies and Ferry operators around the world. More than 250 vessels have been delivered in that time.
