Bay Class patrol boats
The Customs Bay class vessels are 38 metres overall with a range of about 1000 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 20 knots. They can accommodate up to 16 people for extended periods. Bay class vessels investigate possible or confirmed incursions into Australian maritime territory and visit remote or otherwise inaccessible areas within Australia's offshore territories. Each Bay class has two 6.4 metre tenders capable of carrying two crew and four passengers on transits of up to 30nm from the mother ship. Tenders are powered by twin 90HP outboards. Internal fuel capacity provides an adequate cruising range. Tenders are deployed and recovered by a compensated davit system which allows safe and rapid launch/recovery of tenders in a range of sea conditions. Customs vessels are fitted with deck-mounted weapon systems to better enable them to deal with border incursions and other constabulary operations at sea. All vessels have been fitted with a 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun. Bay class crewmembers also carry sidearms for personal protection.
The Australian Border Force Cutter Bay Class played a significant role in border security by maintaining a presence around Australia’s coastline and responding to reported or suspected border incidents and illegal activity. The Bay Class patrol boats operated to the full extent of the Australian 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), other than in the deep Sout hern Ocean. The Bay Class patrol boats were designed to undertake 21 day patrol cycles and can only operate in moderate sea states, which is defined as the top of Sea State 4. Sea states characterise the degree of turbulence at sea, generally measured on a scale from 0 (calm/glassy) to 9 (phenomenal) according to average wave height. Sea State 4 involves wave heights of between 1.25 and 2.5 metres.
Customs’ fleet of eight Bay Class patrol boats were introduced into service in 1999–2000, with an estimated useful operating life of 10 years. A useful operating life encompass the period before a range of major equipment becomes obsolete (for example, communications equipment). The life of the vessel hull may be significantly longer. In the case of the Bay Class patrol boats, the vessel hull life was expected to be 20 years. However, significant structural fatigue cracking was identified after only 10 years, which reduced the planned operational life. The vessels were designed to perform a range of maritime constabulary operations within the coastal and territorial waters of Australia. Since the introduction of the Bay Class patrol boats, the civil maritime security environment has become increasingly challenging and the tasks assigned to the vessels involve patrols much further from shore where rougher sea conditions prevail. The demands placed on Customs’ patrol boats had also increased significantly, with the fleet operating at 2400 sea days per year in 2002–03—twice the initial planned rate of effort.
By 2005, Customs analysis highlighted that structural fatigue in the Bay Class patrol boats was occurring—cracking in the hulls had been identified— and an increased maintenance regime was required. Further, a range of maritime regulatory changes, such as enhanced environmental standards for civilian vessels, also meant the Bay Class patrol boats were not able to meet contemporary regulatory requirements.
In November 2009, the Government endorsed the Civil Maritime Security Capability Plan (CMSCP), which provided guidance for maritime security planning in Australia to 2020. The plan included a number of key performance requirements for an effective maritime patrol function that were beyond the capabilities of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service’s (Customs) existing fleet of eight Bay Class patrol boats. At that time, the Bay Class patrol boats were also entering the latter stages of their planned 10-year operational life.
The transition from the Bay Class patrol boat capability to the enhanced CCPB capability also represents a significant program management and logistical challenge for Customs. In particular, Customs identified the availability of qualified personnel to crew vessels as the single largest risk to its capability upgrade program. In this regard, a significant expansion in patrol boat crew numbers (from around 200 officers to over 300 officers) and a more qualified workforce is required to deliver the operational capabilities of the CCPBs.
At the November 2013 CHOGM meeting in Sri Lanka the Prime Minister announced the gifting of two Customs and Border Protection Bay Class Patrol Boats to Sri Lanka. On 30 March, Mr Perry escorted the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Colombage over the first of those vessels to be handed over today, ACV Corio Bay. Perry indicated that Admiral Colombage was delighted to receive these vessels and was particularly taken with the excellent condition of Corio Bay. On handover, the vessel had completed 3,759 sea days, recording 351 days in one year alone, and steamed over 284,000 nautical miles.
Similarly, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon Scott Morrison announced in Kuala Lumpur in early February 2014 that two Bay Class patrol boats would be gifted to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. Last month, Border Protection officials escorted the Director General of MMEA I (Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency) on a tour of ACV Storm Bay . Mr Perry commented in his address that the Director General’s First Admiral was “so struck with the condition of the ship that he stated it would set new standards for the MMEA”.
Austal CEO Andrew Bellamy said the gifting of these ships in such good condition was particularly pleasing for Austal as well. “It is very good to see Austal ships being transferred in this manner and continuing to support agencies and navies across the region. I congratulate Customs on developing this initiative,” he said.
Australia transferred the first of two former Australian Customs and Border Protection Service Bay class patrol vessels to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton attended the transfer ceremony at Malaysia’s National Hydrographic Centre in Port Klang on 27 February 2015. Mr Dutton said the Australian Government was working with the Malaysian Government to strengthen the Asia-Pacific region’s maritime security. “Our relationship with Malaysia is strong and broad reaching,” Mr Dutton said. “The transfer of these vessels shows the significance Australia places on its relationship with Malaysia, both in terms of people smuggling, transnational crime and in the broader regional maritime security context.
A border patrol boat seriously damaged after striking a coral reef will cost $3 million to repair. On 30 September 2017, shortly after midnight, the Australian Border Force cutter Roebuck Bay (ABFC Roebuck Bay) grounded on Henry Reef in the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. The cutter was on a passage from Saibai Island in the Torres Strait Islands archipelago bound for Lizard Island, located about 71 NM south-east of Cape Melville. The cutter sustained substantial damage to the keel, stabiliser fins and propellers, with hull breaches in way of the storage void and tank compartment spaces. There were no reported injuries or oil pollution. The cutter was subsequently towed off the reef, stabilised and towed to Cairns, arriving on 5 October 2017. The investigation found that the cutter’s officers did not possess an adequate level of knowledge to operate the cutter’s VisionMaster FT ECDIS as the primary means of navigation.
Dame Roma Mitchell, who died 05 March 2000 from bone cancer aged 86, was known as Roma the First because of her achievements as Australia's first woman queen's counsel, supreme court judge, human rights commissioner, university chancellor and state governor. Dame Roma never married, and was in good health until last month, when she was treated for back pain and diagnosed with terminal bone cancer. Despite all her groundbreaking appointments, she always described herself as a "conservative sort of feminist". As the vice-regal representative in South Australia, it is said that when she opened the Adelaide Festival in 1994 and God Save The Queen was played, even the republicans stood - out of respect for Dame Roma. When she retired from the bench, she spent three years delivering food for Meals on Wheels and continued a love of surfing well into her 80s.
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