TSAMTO, October 22. The Australian Ministry of Defense announced the launch ceremony of the first (out of six ordered) patrol boat of the "Improved Cape" class for the Australian Navy, which took place at Austal Ships in Henderson (Western Australia).
These boats are intended to replace the Armidale-class patrol boats in service and will be used as a temporary solution until the new Arafura-class naval patrol ships are put into service.
As reported by TSAMTO, in August 2011, Austal signed a contract with the Customs and Coast Guard Service of Australia for the supply of 8 Cape-class patrol ships, which was completed during 2012-2015. In December 2015, Austal signed a contract with the National Bank of Australia worth $63 million for the supply of two additional Cape-class ships, which, after delivery in 2016-2017, were leased to the Australian Ministry of Defense with the right of redemption.
In May 2020, the Australian Ministry of Defense signed a contract with Austal Australia for the construction of six advanced Cape-class patrol ships for the Australian Navy. The cost of the program is about 324 million austr. dollars (243 million US dollars).
The keel laying ceremony of the lead ship took place on July 24, 2020.
Delivery of the first of the six ships is currently scheduled for early 2022. The remaining boats will be handed over to the customer by mid-2023. The order is part of the Australian government's plan to strengthen the country's shipbuilding industry in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ships of the Improved Cape class can be used to patrol the exclusive economic zone, counter smuggling, illegal migration, protect fisheries, protect law enforcement, collect information and intelligence, control the environmental situation, protect nature reserves.
The improved ship will differ from the basic version by a number of modifications that will be made based on the experience of operating previously delivered boats. In particular, the capacity has been increased by 10 people (up to 32 people), the crew accommodation conditions have been improved.
