Austal Delivers 7th Cape Class Patrol Boat

Shipbuilder Austal Limited announced it has delivered Cape Wessel, the seventh of eight Cape Class patrol boats being supplied to Australian Border Force under a $330 million design, build and in-service support contract.

“The on-time delivery of Cape Wessel and continued efficiencies across the program reinforce Austal’s capability to reliably build and sustain naval and border protection vessels,” said Austal CEO Andrew Bellamy. “Our team at the Henderson shipyard have again demonstrated their ability to meet contracted timeframes. We have been delivering a Cape Class patrol vessel approximately every 10 weeks, which is significantly increasing Australian Border Force’s capability to reliably deliver on the border protection obligations it undertakes to the Commonwealth of Australia."

Bellamy added, “Our sustainment team continues to grow in line with vessels coming into service to ensure operational availability is achieved.”

Cape Wessel is named after the most northerly point of Rimbija Island, the northernmost island of the Wessel Islands group that extends from Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia and into the Arafura Sea.

Austal was awarded the Cape Class contract from the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service in August 2011 for eight 58 meter aluminum monohull patrol boats to be delivered between March 2013 and August 2015.

The final Cape Class vessel is presently in the final stages of construction and will be delivered later in the year, in line with the contract, Austal noted.

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 fleet.