The Bay class is a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of eight armed

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

s, built by

Austal Austal is an Australian-based global ship building company and defence prime contractor that specialises in the design, construction and support of defence and commercial vessels. Austal's product range includes naval vessels, high-speed passeng ...

and used by the

Customs Marine Unit The Marine Unit, formerly the Australian Customs Service National Marine Unit, is a division of the Australian Border Force which acts as a Coast Guard in guarding Australia's coast. The Marine Unit focuses on surveillance and response activities ...

of 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 travelers and g ...

. They entered service during the late 1990s and early 2000s, and are primarily used on border protection duties. The class was due to be replaced by 2010, but a

request for tender An invitation to tender (ITT, otherwise known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business ...

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 began entering service, four of the Bays were offered to other forces; two each to the

Sri Lankan Navy ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை , image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy , dates = , c ...

and the

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency ( Abbr.; MMEA; ms, Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia – ''APMM''); formally known as Malaysia Coast Guard for international identification, is the coast guard organisation of Malaysia, and princip ...

Design and construction

Bay-class vessels have a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of 134 tons, are long, have a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of , and a draught of .Saunders (ed.), ''Jane's Fighting Ships'', p. 37 The propulsion system consists of two MTU 16V 2000 M70 diesel engines, supplemented by a VosperThornycroft

bow thruster Manoeuvering thruster (bow thruster or stern thruster) is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, either the bow or stern, of a ship or boat to make it more manoeuvrable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow th ...

. The patrol boats have a maximum speed of , and a maximum range of . Each vessel is fitted with a 7.62 mm general purpose machine gun, and two Wiltrading Pursuit 640 vessels are carried for boarding operations. The sensor suite consists of a Racal Decca surface search

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

operating in the E/F and I bands, and a Wesmar SS 390E dipping

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

. A Bay-class vessel has a crew of 12. The Bay class was built by

.Australian Customs Service, ''Customs Maritime Unit'' The eight ships were delivered over a period of 19 months, beginning in February 1999. The Bay-class design was used as the basis for the 14 larger s in use with the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

, and the 10 patrol boats used by the

Yemen Navy The Yemeni Navy and Coastal Defence Forces is the maritime component of the armed forces of Yemen. Yemen's navy was created in 1990 when North and South Yemen united. Yemen early on had problems with trying to keep drugs from entering Yemen by ...

Operational history

The eight patrol boats are operated by the

of the

Australian Customs Service The Australian Customs Service was an Government of Australia, Australian Government agency responsible for Australian border protection, duties and taxes between 1985 and 2009. The Service was first under the portfolio of the Department of Indus ...

. They are primarily used to patrol Australia's economic exclusion zone, although they also operate in support of other Australian law enforcement and defence agencies, including but not limited to the

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...

, the

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects a large part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef from damaging activities. It is a vast multiple-use Marine Park which supports a wide range of uses, including commercial marine tourism, fishing, ports an ...

Authority, and the

. Bay-class vessels often operate on border protection duties under

Border Protection Command The Maritime Border Command (MBC) is Australia's principal civil maritime security agency, a de facto coast guard, operating in the maritime domain to ensure compliance with Australia's maritime legislation by foreign and domestic non-state actor ...

. 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.

Foreign service

Two Bay-class patrol boats were gifted to the

Sri Lankan Navy ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை , image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy , dates = , c ...

. ''Corio Bay'' was transferred on 30 March 2014, and ''Hervey Bay'' was handed over on 3 June that year. Originally renamed as SLNS ''Oshadi'' and SLNS ''Omaya'', the patrol boats were recommissioned on 9 July as SLNS ''Mihikatha'' and SLNS ''Rathnadeepa''. Another two were offered to the

in 2014. ''Arnhem Bay'' was handed over on 10 February 2015, and was renamed KM ''Perwira''. ''Dame Roma Mitchell'' was transferred in May 2015, and renamed KM ''Satria''.

Replacement

The Bay class were due to be replaced in 2010, but it was not until June of that year that a

was issued for eight new, larger patrol boats.Parnell, ''Navy and Customs vessels cut back on border patrols''Australian Security Magazine, ''Govt to buy new border patrol vessels'' Austal received the tender for eight patrol boats on 12 August 2011. Construction of the vessels, designated the , started in 2012 with the keel of the first boat being laid in June 2012, and launched in January 2013. The new patrol boats entered service between March 2013 and September 2015. Most Bay Class vessels were retired prior to

being reformed into the Australian Border Force (ABF). No Bay class vessels are left in service with the ABF.

Ships

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)

Citations

References

Books

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News articles

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Websites

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External links

* *{{cite web, url=http://www.austal.com/index.cfm?objectID=6D826D63-A0CC-3C8C-D97DD771E8A71B68 , title=Australian Customs 38m , accessdate=1 March 2010 , work=Austal website , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020004607/http://austal.com/index.cfm?objectID=6D826D63-A0CC-3C8C-D97DD771E8A71B68 , archivedate=20 October 2010 Patrol vessels of the Marine Unit (Australian Border Force) Patrol boat classes Ships built by Austal