Austal’s First Cape-Class Patrol Boat Officially Named

Cape St. George, image: Austal

Austal announced today their first-in-series Cape Class Patrol Boat built for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service has been officially named the Cape St George during a ceremony held at Austal’s Henderson shipyard in Western Australia.

Cape St George is the first of eight new boats being built by Austal under a design, construct and in-service support contract valued at approximately A$330 million.

The vessel was launched at Austal’s Henderson shipyard in January and has since undergone final fit out and sea trials, with some other testing to be completed prior to final delivery.

All eight patrol boats are expected to be delivered by August 2015.

Vessel particulars:

• Length: 58.10 metres
• Personnel: 18
• Top Speed: 25 knots
• Range @ 12 knots @ 4000 nm
• Tech specs: Aluminium hull vessel with twin 2,600 kilowatt Caterpillar engines with reversing gearbox
• Armament: Two deck-mounted 0.50 cal general purpose machine guns

Austal’s role extends beyond the design and construction of the vessels however.

The company is also using its in-house expertise to develop and integrate sophisticated electronic systems for command, control and communication.  In addition, Austal will also perform ongoing in-service support for the Cape Class fleet over at least eight years, encompassing a full range of intermediate and depot level maintenance activities, valued at a minimum of A$50 million.

“Our ability to deliver the systems and support for the Cape Class fleet demonstrates our total solution capability, which represents the future of our Australian business,” notes Andrew Bellamy, Austal’s Chief Executive Officer.

“We will continue to expand and enhance the strategic industry capability necessary to meet the current and future defence needs of Australia and other nations.”

Construction of the second Cape vessel is well underway, with the keel laid in January, while work has commenced on the third Cape vessel.

Apart from the Cape Class Patrol Boats, Austal is prime contractor for two major defence projects – the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) – for the United States Navy.