Austal Limited has announced that Australia’s Defence Industry Minister, the Honourable Melissa Price MP, officially ‘cut metal’ on the second of six new Cape-class patrol boats to be constructed by Austal Australia for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the company said in its release.
The plate cutting of the second vessel follows the award of the A$324 million contract for six Cape-class Patrol Boats, announced on 1 May 2020 by the Australian Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC and Defence Industry Minister, The Honourable Melissa Price MP.
Austal Chief Executive Officer David Singleton said the plate cutting of the second new Cape for the RAN was completed less than 12 weeks after the contract announcement.
Based on Austal’s proven 58 metre aluminium monohull patrol boat design, the new RAN Capes include a number of enhancements that further extend the capability of the vessel and the fleet. Crew accommodation has been increased by 10 people, to now total 32 and ‘quality-of-life’ provisions have been enhanced, ensuring those who operate the new Capes have WIFI connectivity to the outside world regardless of the operating environment.
Delivery of the first of six Capes, Hull 811, is scheduled in September 2021 with subsequent deliveries of remaining vessels through to mid-2023.
Austal is also delivering 21 Guardian-class Patrol Boats for 12 Pacific Island nations and Timor Leste under the SEA3036-1 Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project, with six patrol boats delivered since 2018. Austal provides in-service support to both the Cape and Guardian-class Patrol Boat fleets through service centres located in Henderson, Western Australia; Cairns, Queensland; and Darwin, Northern Territory.