Australian shipbuilder Austal has announced that it was contracted to deliver a mid-life remediation program to the Royal Australian Navy’s Armidale Class patrol boat (ACPB) fleet.
The company said it would undertake a number of hull remediation and configuration changes as well as planned and corrective maintenance work on up to seven ACPB’s at the company’s Henderson, Western Australia shipyard from October 2016.
Austal is already delivering in-service support to the Australian Border Force’s fleet of eight Cape-class patrol boats (designed and constructed by Austal) and has been contracted to provide in service support for nineteen steel Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement (PPB-R) vessels, as they enter service from late 2018.
Austal Chief Executive Officer David Singleton commented: “As the original designer and builder of the Armidale Class, Austal is in an ideal position to deliver this important, mid-life enhancement work to a proven naval platform. Our inherent knowledge base and practical experience building and servicing the hard working Armidale fleet will ensure the vessels depart Austal in 2017 as a fully operational and effective capability.”
The Armidale Class patrol boat (ACPB) is a 56 meter all-aluminium monohull patrol boat designed and constructed by Austal for the Royal Australian Navy. Fourteen ACPB’s were delivered from 2005 to 2007 and will represent Australia’s essential patrol capability until new offshore patrol vessels start entering the fleet from 2020.