The class was due to be replaced by 2010, but a request for tender was not issued until June of that year. The availability of the Bay class ships decreased during the later years of their service life. After the Cape class began entering service, four of the Bays were offered to other forces; two each to the Sri Lankan Navy and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.
Design and construction
Bay-class vessels have a displacement of 134 tons, are 38.2 metres (125 ft 4 in) long, have a beam of 7.2 metres (23 ft 7 in), and a draught of 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in).[2] The propulsion system consists of two MTU 16V 2000 M70 diesel engines, supplemented by a VosperThornycroft bow thruster.[2] The patrol boats have a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), and a maximum range of 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi).[2] Each vessel is fitted with a 7.62 mm general purpose machine gun, and two Wiltrading Pursuit 640 vessels are carried for boarding operations.[1][2] The sensor suite consists of a Racal Decca surface search radar operating in the E/F and I bands, and a Wesmar SS 390E dipping sonar.[2] A Bay-class vessel has a crew of 12.[2]
The Bay-class was built by Austal.[3] The eight ships were delivered over a period of 19 months, beginning in February 1999.[2]
Bay-class vessels often operate on border protection duties under Border Protection Command.[7] The age of the vessels and resulting maintenance needs has seen a drop in the amount of time spent at sea, with other ships of the Customs Marine Unit forced to take up the slack.[7] The Australian Border Force announced its two remaining Bay-class boats would undergo a life-extension refit.[8]
Foreign service
Two Bay-class patrol boats were gifted to the Sri Lankan Navy.[9]Corio Bay was transferred on 30 March 2014,[10] and Hervey Bay was handed over on 3 June that year.[11] Originally renamed as SLNS Oshadi and SLNS Omaya,[10][11] the patrol boats were recommissioned on 9 July as SLNS Mihikatha and SLNS Rathnadeepa.[12]
Another two were offered to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency in 2014.[13]Arnhem Bay was handed over on 10 February 2015, and was renamed KM Perwira.[14]Dame Roma Mitchell was transferred in May 2015,[15][14] and renamed KM Satria.[16]
The Bay class were due to be replaced in 2010, but it was not until June of that year that a request for tender was issued for eight new, larger patrol boats.[7][17] Austal received the tender for eight 57.8 metres (190 ft) patrol boats on 12 August 2011.[18] Construction of the vessels, designated the Cape class, started in 2012 with the keel of the first boat being laid in June 2012,[19] and launched in January 2013.[20]
ACV Roebuck Bay (ABFC 200)
ACV Holdfast Bay (ACV 20)
ACV Botany Bay (ACV 30)
ACV Hervey Bay (ACV 40) now SLNS Rathnadeepa
ACV Corio Bay (ACV 50) now SLNS Mihikatha
ACV Arnhem Bay (ACV 60) now KM Perwira
ACV Dame Roma Mitchell (ACV 70) now KM Satria
ACV Storm Bay (ABFC 210)
^ abcdefgSaunders (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships, p. 37
^ abcAustralian Customs Service, Customs Maritime Unit
^Tenix, Tenix shortlisted for Patrol Boat tender, "[Defense Maritime Services, partnering with Austal] is offering a stretched version of the Austal designed Bay Class Patrol Boat that is currently in service with Australian Customs."
^Austal, Austal to Build 10 Naval Patrol Boats for Yemen, "The all-aluminium patrol boat design selected by Yemen is a slightly less complex version of Austal's 38-metre Bay Class design..."
^Dodd, 'Dad's navy' fills in for faulty ships, "[The Royal Australian Navy] is relying heavily on the Australian Customs Service to provide back-up with a loan of eight Bay-class boats."
^ abcParnell, Navy and Customs vessels cut back on border patrols
.jpg)
