Australia's latest navy ship, HMAS Armidale, is ready to start patrolling the coastline. A Defence spokesman said the first of the Armidale class patrol boats today completed her mission readiness evaluation. "This key milestone means Armidale is now ready to start patrolling and protecting Australia's coastline," the spokesman said.
HMAS Armidale is the first of 14 new state-of-the-art patrol boats that will serve at the front line of Australia's border protection. They will patrol the coast for suspect fishing boats, as well as people breaching quarantine, customs and immigration laws.
HMAS Armidale is home ported in Darwin and has a crew of 21.
Two more Armidale class patrol boats were officially named yesterday during a ceremony at Western Australia's Austal Ships construction facility. The government said the two boats, Larrakia and Bathurst, would be in service by the end of December. "These new Armidale class patrol boats offer increased patrol range, surveillance and boarding capability in comparison to the Fremantle class patrol boats they are replacing," Defence Minister Robert Hill said.
The new patrol boats’ class is named after the original HMAS Armidale, a Bathurst Class corvette, which served as an escort vessel, protecting Australian coastal and mainland to New Guinea convoys. She was sunk by enemy action on 1 December 1942 during operations off Betano, on the south coast of Timor. Of the crew of 149 only 49 survived.