The National Australia Bank (NAB) has awarded a contract to Australian-based global ship-building company Austal to build two more Cape-class patrol boats (CCPB).
Under the $63m contract, Austal will build and deliver the two vessels to the NAB in the mid 2017.
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The vessels will be used by the Australia Department of Defence (DoD) for at least a three-year period.
Austal CEO Andrew Bellamy said that the contract will increase the Cape-class patrol boats fleet to ten.
Bellamy added: "It is also a terrific vote of confidence in Austal and the products we design, build and sustain at our Henderson shipyard in Western Australia.
"As Australia’s only ASX-listed prime contractor we are very well positioned to support the Commonwealth in its future continuous ship-building plans."
Austal said that a residual value guarantee will also be provided to the NAB, which can be exercised at the end of the charter term.
Additionally, the company will offer complete in-service support for the vessels.
As part of a $330m contract awarded in August 2011, Austal is also building or delivering eight CCPBs that are expected to replace the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service’s Bay-class vessels.
Designed to support security and surveillance operations, the 57.8m-long CCPBs can complement a crew of 18 and feature gun mounts to install deck-mounted machine guns.
Separately, Austal is under a contract to build and supply two high-speed support vessels to the Royal Navy of Oman.
Bellamy added: "The two corvette-sized vessels we are building at our Australian shipyard for export to Oman next year are progressing well and demonstrate that Austal is internationally competitive when it comes to advanced manufacturing."
Image: Austal-built Cape-class patrol boats stationed in Henderson, Western Australia. Photo: courtesy of Austal.
