Austal Celebrates Keel Laying For Cape Wessel

Once again demonstrating the rapid progress Austal is making on the Cape Class Patrol Boat Program, on 4 July 2014, Austal hosted the keel-laying ceremony for the seventh vessel (Cape Wessel) of eight 58-metre patrol boats that Austal is designing, building and supporting for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS).

Austal was awarded the contract for the design, construction and through-life support of the Cape Class Patrol Boats for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service in August 2011. The eight 58 metre aluminium monohulls are due to be delivered between March 2013 and August 2015.

Once again demonstrating the rapid progress Austal is making on the Cape Class Patrol Boat Program, on 4 July 2014, Austal hosted the keel-laying ceremony for the seventh vessel (Cape Wessel) of eight 58-metre patrol boats that Austal is designing, building and supporting for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS).

Keel-laying traditionally marks the first significant milestone in a ship’s construction. Historically this was the “laying down” of the main timber making up the backbone of a vessel. Austal’s advanced shipbuilding techniques means fabrication of ship modules begins well before they are actually joined. So today Austal celebrates keel-laying when modules are brought together for final assembly.

Although Austal’s design and manufacturing approach is thoroughly modern, the ceremony retained long held shipbuilding traditions. This included placing three specially minted coins under a keel block as a symbol of good fortune and to bless the ship. These coins will be removed just prior to the patrol boat’s launch.

The three coins were placed by Anthony Flynn, Deputy Commanding Officer Cape St George; Rodney McMahon, CCPB RPT OSM and Matthew Klingberg, CCPB Platform Systems Manager - Austal. In doing so, the keel block was formally positioned by two of Austal’s high achieving apprentices, David Murphy and Alex Watts.

Cape Class is a program of work that underpins Austal’s strategy as a global defence prime contractor of Ships, Systems and Support. It is a program that has also enabled Austal to reposition and strengthen the Henderson facilities as a defence-focused operation. Along with key intermediate and deep level sustainment activities being performed in Henderson on both Cape and Armidale Class vessels, this total solution capability represents the future of the Australian business as Austal continues to expand and enhance the strategic industry capability necessary to meet the current and future defence needs of Australia and other nations.

In doing so, the Cape Class Patrol Boats play a significant role in Operation Sovereign Borders i.e. protecting Australia’s borders from multiple maritime threats and have been designed to have greater range, endurance and flexibility, as well as enhanced capability to operate in more severe sea conditions and across longer range than the current Customs and Border Protection and indeed Royal Australian Navy Patrol Boat fleet.

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.