Senator the Honourable Michaelia Cash, Austal Australia President - Graham Backhouse, Austal Vice President Defence - Davyd Thomas and Customs & Border Protection acting National Director - Ian Laverock.
Austal Limited has recently celebrated another milestone with the keel laying for the eighth and final Cape Class Patrol Boat at Austal’s Defence Facility in Henderson, Western Australia.
The vessel, Cape York, named after the northernmost point on the Australian continent, is the last of eight vessels being designed, constructed and sustained by Austal for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service under a contract valued at approximately $330 million awarded in August 2011.
The first three Cape Class Patrol Boats, Cape St George, Cape Byron and Cape Nelson have already been successfully delivered to enter border protection operations.
The fourth vessel, the Cape Sorell, is undergoing sea trials and will be delivered by the end of the year.
All eight vessels of the current Cape Class production run are on track to be delivered by August 2015 in line with the original contract.
In addition to its role as a defence prime contractor in Australia, Austal is also prime contractor for two major US defence projects - the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) - for the US Navy.
Senator the Honourable Michaelia Cash, Austal Australia President - Graham Backhouse, Austal Vice President Defence - Davyd Thomas and Customs & Border Protection acting National Director - Ian Laverock.
