The First of 21 Guardian Class PPBs of Austal Is Launched

HENDERSON (Western Australia), June 1, 2018, Author: Bm team, Photo: Austal

On 30th May the Australian shipbuilder Austal Limited (Austal) announced the launching of the first of twenty-one Guardian Class Pacific Patrol Boats (PPBs), reported Shephard Media.

The launching takes place two years after the awarding of the contract in accordance with the relevant schedule and budget.

David Singleton, CEO of Austal, said, “It is a testament to the skills, experience and management of the Austal PPB-R team that the first vessel has met its project milestones for design and build, on schedule. The overall construction program is well underway with vessels two and three in build and the fourth vessel commencing construction in June.”

The 21 patrol boats, which will be allocated to thirteen nations from October 2018 on, are being manufactured under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement (PPB-R) Project of Australia. The first vessel will be received by Papua New Guinea in late October 2018.

Austal was awarded the AU$305 million contract for 19 PPBs in May, 2016, and in April, 2018 the company received a further AU$29.7 million contract for 2 additional vessels.

The 39.5m-long Guardian class patrol boats are small patrol vessels designed for small Pacific Ocean countries. They are intended to be capable of traveling 5,600 km at 22 km/h, with a maximum speed of 37 km/h.

The photo shows the Patrol Boat starting its road journey from Austal’s Pacific Patrol Boat shipyard facility at Naval Base, Western Australia.