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Austal rolls out first Cape-class patrol boat for Australian Royal Navy

By Ryan Maass
Hull 380's rollout comes ahead of its formal launch, set to take place in the same week. Photo by Austal.
Hull 380's rollout comes ahead of its formal launch, set to take place in the same week. Photo by Austal.

HENDERSON, Australia, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Austal announced its first rollout of Hull 380, the first Cape-class patrol boat to be designed and delivered to the Royal Australian Navy.

The vessel was the ninth Cape-class boat to be constructed, and the first of two to be delivered to Australia. The rollout precedes the official launch of the boats. Deliveries are expected to be complete by April 2017.

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"Austal delivered eight Capes to the Australian Border Force over 2013 – 2015 and we will hand over Capes 9 and 10 to the Royal Australian Navy in the first half of 2017," Austal CEO David Singleton said during the roll out ceremony. "To date, we have directly engaged 348 Australian suppliers and created and sustained 350 jobs in the delivery of the Cape program."

Austal's Cape-class patrol boat is a 58-meter vessel designed for border security missions. The boat is capable of reaching a top speed of 26 knots, and has a range of up to 4,000 nautical miles. 22 people are able to crew the vessel and conduct 28-day patrol missions at a time.

Hull 380 will be formally launched later in the week, and is scheduled to begin sea trials in January 2017.

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