Austal Delivers Seventh Cape Class Patrol Boat

Austal Limited (Austal) (ASX:ASB) is pleased to announce 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.

Launch of Cape Wessel

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 Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bellamy said that with one remaining vessel to be delivered out of the Cape Class fleet, Austal continued to demonstrate its credentials as a partner of choice for government defence vessel programs and a world leader in patrol boat design, build and sustainment.

“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,” Mr Bellamy said.

“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."

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

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

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About Austal

Austal is a global defence prime contractor and a designer and manufacturer of defence and commercial ships. For more than 25 years Austal has been a leader in the design, construction and maintenance of revolutionary ships for Governments, Navies and Ferry operators around the world. More than 250 vessels have been delivered in that time.

Ships

Defence vessels designed and built by Austal include multi-mission combatants, such as the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) for the United States Navy and military high speed vessels for transport and humanitarian relief, such as the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) for the United States Navy and High Speed Support Vessel (HSSV) for the Royal Navy of Oman. Austal also designs, constructs, integrates and maintains an extensive range of patrol and auxiliary vessels for government agencies globally, including the Cape Class Patrol Boat Program for Australian Customs and Border Protection. Defence vessels are designed and constructed in Mobile, Alabama and in Henderson, Western Australia.

Austal has been at the forefront of the high speed ferry market since the early days of the industry. Our market leading designs of high performance aluminium vessels have long been at the heart of Austal’s research and development. Today, commercial ship construction is centred on our shipyard in Balamban, Philippines.

Systems

Austal has expertise in integrating complex systems into its ships, including ride control, ship management, and communication, sensors and weapon systems.

Support

Austal provides a wide range of support services, including through life support, integrated logistics support, vessel sustainment and systems support. These services are delivered through our global support network in the USA, Australia, Asia and the Middle East together with partner shipyards worldwide.