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CAMERON STEWART
AUSTRALIA'S navy patrol boats are literally cracking up under the strain of intercepting the surge in asylum-seeker vessels, with one boat now banned from operations and structural cracks discovered in at least two others.
Defence has ordered an urgent investigation into its overworked 14-boat fleet amid concerns that the problem could threaten the navy's long-term ability to patrol Australia's northern approaches.
The discovery of the structural cracks in the Armidale-class boats could not come at a worse time for the navy, which is being forced to intercept a growing number of asylum-seeker boats further out from shore.
This trend has been reinforced by some people-smugglers employing bogus distress calls to secure naval assistance shortly after leaving Indonesia.
The demands on the fleet were starkly illustrated yesterday with the dramatic rescue of 211 asylum-seekers in rough seas by HMAS Ararat and HMAS Larrakia.
It was the biggest boat to be intercepted in five years under Labor.
More than 100 asylum-seeker boats carrying a total of 7000 people have arrived so far this year, many of which have required naval escorts.
Read the full story at The Australian