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AUSTRALIA'S FIRST CAPE CLASS PATROL BOAT BY JESSIE KOLLEN B y 2015 the coastal waters of Australia will be protected by an eight-strong fleet of sophisticated and intimidating patrol boats, the Cape Class Patrol fleet. Replacing the aging Bay Class vessels of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, the new boats will form the first line of defense against maritime security threats inside and even beyond Australia's 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone. The first-in-series Cape class patrol boat was named the Cape St George during a ceremony held in March at the Henderson shipyard in Freemantle, Western Australia. The Australian Government approved the funds for the replacement of Bay Class fleet in 2011 and global commercial and defense boat designers Austal won the four million-dollar contract to design, construct and provide in-service support to the fleet. Austal has already begun work on the second and third vessels. All eight boats will be named after capes in Australia and are on schedule to be delivered by August 2015. Like her upcoming Cape Class sisters, the aluminium monohull Cape St George is classified under Det Norske Veritas society. Measuring 57.8m in length, 10.3m in beam, with a draft of three metres the patrol boat is longer than the current Bay Class vessels, more powerful and expected to have greater endurance. Higher seas and more severe conditions should be less of a challenge to the 18 member crew, who will be able to undertake 28 day patrols and sail 4,000 nautical miles before refuelling. Out on the harbour and open sea these new vessels gain their not inconsiderable power from two Caterpillar 3516C main engines. Each engine delivering a power output of 2,525kW at 1,800rpm, whereas the previous Bay Class vessels had twin 1,050 kW MTU engines. Coupled to two ZF 9055A gearboxes and twin fixed pitch counter rotating five bladed high speed propellers, along with spade rudders and hydraulic trim tabs, the propulsion system will provide a maximum speed of 25kt and a range of 4,000nm at 12kt. The ship is also fitted with a HRP 2001 TT 160kW bow thruster. Passenger comfort on the Cape St George has not been neglected, with accommodation for government officials and customs and border protection officers, and every vessel is to be fitted with a motion control system of two roll fins as well as the trim flaps. 60 Professional Skipper May/June 2013 The navigation and communications systems allow for future developments in surveillance technology, but what is already onboard makes for a long list: All Cape Class boats to allow for redundancies or failure will have two electronic chart display and information systems, two gyro compasses, two differential GPS, a secure marine automatic identification system, electro-optical sensor system, radars and voyage data recorder. The secure or nonsecure voice and data communication will be transferred over a VHF, UHF, Satcom and Sea Boat's situational awareness systems. Given that these vessels will be at the disposal of agencies like the Australian Federal Police, the Quarantine and Inspection Service, Fisheries Management Authority and the Australian Maritime Authority as well as Customs, the interior of these patrol craft will also feature the obligatory holding areas. These spaces are furnished with CCTV and facilities for accommodating intercepted illegal foreign fishers, bio-security hazards and suspected unauthorised people attempting to enter Australia. Machine guns grace the deck of the Cape St George and all Cape Class vessels will have two deck-mounted 7.62mm generalpurpose machine guns. Carried onboard will be a number of other weapons and personal defensive equipment such as glock 9mm pistols for Customs and Border Protection boarding party officers, shotguns and a full range of body armour, batons, capsicum spray and, of course, handcuffs. It would seem that all unauthorised arrivals, pirates, marine polluters, or importers and exporters of illegal goods in Australia's EEZ should beware. However, the ability of the Cape St George and the Cape Class fleet to identify, track, gather intelligence, store evidence and intercept vessels should be welcome news for mariners in need. Each boat will allow the launch of two response tenders, 7.3m Gemini sea boats, to carry out rescues. As part of its monitoring role the Cape Class fleet will also assist the agencies of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Australia has an offshore maritime area of nearly 13 million square kilometers and these new Customs and Border Protection patrol boats will be sure to make their presence known all along Australia's coastline.