Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) ''Ocean Protector'' is an auxiliary naval vessel of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

manned and managed by Teekay.

Design and construction

The ship has a full-load displacement of 8,500 tonnes, a tonnage value of 6,596 gross tons, is in overall length, with a beam of , and a draught of .Saunders & Philpott (eds.), ''IHS Jane's Fighting Ships'' 2015-2016'', p. 39'' The propulsion machinery is diesel-electric. Four

Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish corporation, Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the Marine propulsion, marine and energy markets. The core ...

63L2 diesels, providing a total of , generate electricity, which is directed to two motors driving directional propellers. Top speed is , with a range of . Sustainable range is at . A platform suitable for landing a medium helicopter is sited forward, above the bridge. For offshore support duties, of deck area is available, and a 140 tonne crane is fitted. In Australian Customs service, the ship's normal complement was made up of 22 ship's crew contracted from Teekay, plus up to 50 Customs and associated personnel, along with austere accommodation for a further 120 in a retrofitted deckhouse module. Two .50 caliber machine guns were fitted, along with two rigid hull Customs Rescue Tenders.

Operational history

The ship was laid down at the Aker Yards ASA in

Tulcea Tulcea (; also known by #Names, alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 65,624 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city. It is one ...

, Romania on 25 August 2006 as a ROV support vessel for Norwegian shipping company

DOF Subsea DOF Subsea is an international subsea operating company. The DOF Subsea Group is a specialist subsea service business that provides subsea construction, subsea engineering, inspection, repair and maintenance and survey services. DOF Subsea owns ...

. Based on the Aker ROV 06 DE design, it was named ''Geo Bergen'' during construction and launched on 28 January 2007. The ship was renamed to ''Skandi Bergen'' on 19 July 2007 prior to its completion on 3 August 2007. In mid-2010, the Australian government chartered the ship for the

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service was an Australian federal government agency responsible for managing the security and integrity of the Australian border and facilitating the movement of legitimate international travellers and ...

, as a replacement for MV ''Oceanic Viking''. The ship was chartered to Customs through DMAA Seaforce. Modifications for Customs service were made by Forgacs Engineering in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

, including the installation of the austere accommodation and medical deckhouse (the latter staffed by a doctor drawn from the

Australian Antarctic Division The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) is a division of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water. The division undertakes science programs and research projects to contribute to an understanding of Antarctica and the S ...

), fitting of weapons and davits for the two Customs tenders, modification and expansion of crew recreation facilities, and sealing of the ship's

moon pool A moon pool is an equipment deployment and retrieval feature used by oil platforms, marine drilling platforms, drillships, diving support vessels, fishing vessels, oceanography, marine research and underwater exploration or research vessels, and ...

s. On completion, the ship was renamed and redesignated "Australian Customs Vessel (ACV) ''Ocean Protector''". ''Ocean Protector'' entered Customs Service in October 2010. During November 2010, the vessel intercepted suspected drug smugglers off

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, and intercepted two

asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A per ...

boats off

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...

in November 2010. In January 2012, ''Ocean Protector'' retrieved three Australian anti-whaling activists who had boarded MV ''Shōnan Maru 2''. In November 2015, DOF announced the sale of the vessel to the Australian government for NOK 300 million, with the ship to be handed over in early 2016. Upon completion of the sale, the ship was renamed the Australian Defense Vessel (ADV) ''Ocean Protector''. As of 2021, the ship is operating as an Auxiliary Navy Ship manned and managed by Teekay. The ship was recently called upon to assist in offloading cargo from MV ''Borkum'' to the wharf at Christmas Island by acting as an artificial lee as severe weather hampered it from getting closer to the wharf.

Citations

References

;Books * *

External links

Skandi Protector
at DOF ASA website {{DEFAULTSORT:Ocean Protector 2007 ships Auxiliary ships of Australia Ships built in Romania