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Fremantle Class Patrol Boat

Australia's first new patrol boats since WWII were the Attack Class vessels. First launched in August 1967, these vessels were built in various Queensland shipyards for patrol and survey work in Australian and nearby waters. They proved to be fast and versatile patrol craft, performing a variety of work including coastal surveillance, enforcement of fisheries, customs, immigration and quarantine laws, plus training and air-sea rescue. The Attack Class boats were also featured in the ABC television series Patrol Boat.

The decision to purchase the Fremantle Class Patrol Boats to replace the Attack Class was announced in September 1977. These vessels were significantly larger than the Attack Class they replaced, bringing added capability to Australia's maritime patrols. The original 15-year life of the Fremantle Class was extended to 19 and was since extended again with all of the vessels due to be decommissioned by February 2007. The Fremantle Class continued the outstanding work performed by the Attack Class.

The Cairns builder had undertaken to build 14 ships exactly the same as the lead ship Fremantle, constructed in the United Kingdom. The only difficulty with the requirement was that the lead ship was substantially overweight. The complexity of the contract administration was such that its significant amendment required the concurrence of five First Assistant Secretaries in three government departments. The contractor agreed to vary his approach, with paper work to follow, but it was realised that the arrangements were not conducive to sound project management. In the same way it was found that differing views within Navy could unduly delay decisions, and it was eventually accepted that the Project Director needed to be able to resolve such issues. The Project Director emphasised the importance of clearly defined objectives. These needed to cover not only the primary objectives of achieving performance within the agreed cost boundaries, but also need to identify important secondary objectives such as manpower training, skills acquisition, and industrial capabilities development.

The ageing Fremantle Class Patrol Boat Fleet (FCPB) had come to the end of their useful life and were to be progressively replaced over a period of 2 years by a modern class of vessel with increased operating capability named the Armidale Class Patrol Boat (ACPB). The Chief of Navy announced a paying off schedule for the FCPB Fleet including the full decommissioning schedule. The first two vessels that were decommissioned had numerous items of equipment removed to enable the supply of unique FCPB and ACPB items to support the remaining/operational Patrol Boats. The decommissioning of the Fremantle Class is aligned with the introduction of the Navy's 14 replacement state-of-the-art Armidale Class Patrol Boats being built by Western Australian ship builder Austal.

HMA Ships Wollongong and Bunbury are Fremantle Class Patrol Boats (FCPB) currently based in Darwin, Northern Territory. Both were built by North Queensland Engineers and Agents Ltd (NQEA) in Cairns, Queensland and commissioned at Cairns on 28 November 1981 and 15 December 1984 respectively. HMAS Wollongong was the fourth and HMAS Bunbury was the last of the 15 FCPBs built for the Royal Australian Navy between 1980 and 1984. HMA Ships Wollongong and Bunbury were the fourth and fifth Fremantle Class Patrol Boats (FCPB) to decommission from the Royal Australian Navy. The ceremony commenced at 5.45pm Saturday 11 February 2006.

The Fremantle Class Patrol Boat [FCPB] were gradually replaced by 14 state-of-the-art Armidale Class Patrol Boats being built by Western Australian ship builder Austal. The first ACPB, HMAS Armidale, was commissioned in June 2005. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Ships Townsville and Ipswich were the last of the Fremantle Class Patrol Boats (FCPB) to decommission on 14 May 2007 in their homeport of Cairns after a combined 50 years of service to the Navy. Both ships' Australian White Ensign were lowered for the last time and handed to the respective Commanding Officers.

In attendance was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Mr Peter Lindsay MP, Chief of Navy, VADM Russ Shalders and the Commander Australian Fleet, RADM Davyd Thomas. "The dual decommissioning of Townsville and Ipswich represents the end of an era. The introduction of the next generation Armidale Class Patrol Boats will continue their roles and outstanding service," said RADM Thomas. "Ipswich has provided valuable and reliable service for 25 years. The current crew and myself are proud to say we have been a part of her history. The decommissioning of the last Fremantle Class Patrol Boats is a sad occasion for the host of personnel who have served in them over the last 27 years," said Commanding Officer of HMAS, LCDR Darren Grogan.

" Townsville has always been based in Cairns and has strong bonds to the community here. After almost 26 years and in excess of 680,000 miles steamed, her legacy will be great memories and friendship. Being the last of the class is particularly poignant and the decommissioning closes a significant chapter of the RAN's history," said Commanding Officer of HMAS Townsville, LCDR Andrew Hawke.

Even though the FCPB have completed official service they will still live on through Channel 9's television series 'Sea Patrol', featuring Ipswich. Also attending the event were veterans from the first RAN ships to bear the name Townsville and Ipswich. Both vessels were Bathurst Class Corvettes, which saw active service in World War II.