Industry: First Of Two Bay Class Patrol Boats Gifted To Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency

A Bay class patrol boat (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons)

The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak has inspected the first of two Austal-built Bay Class Patrol Boats gifted to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) by the Australian Government, at an event held in Port Klang, Malaysia on Tuesday 17 March 2015.

The 38m Bay Class Patrol Boat, previously the ACV Arnhem Bay and now KM Perwira, was received by the MMEA following a flag-transfer ceremony held in Cairns, Queensland, Australia on 10th February 2015.  A second vessel is due for delivery in April/May 2015.

Austal’s Vice President International Sales and Marketing, Dave Shiner attended the event and noted the warm reception that the vessel received.

“The Austal designed and built Bay Class vessels are robust and cost effective patrol boats that have provided outstanding service to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) over their first 15 years of life,” said Mr Shiner.  “Their proven ability to meet the challenges of search and rescue in rough weather conditions around Australia means they will be an excellent addition to the MMEA fleet. The vessel’s aluminium construction, which requires less installed power than steel hulled equivalents, delivers better performance, lower fuel consumption and lower maintenance costs year-in, year-out; ensuring greater capability in the long run.”

ACV Arnhem Bay completed 279,118 nautical miles in its 3,627 sea days of operational service for the ACBPS. A total of eight 38m Bay Class Patrol Boats were produced by Austal and entered service with the ACBPS from February 1999, quickly proving invaluable in the agency’s coastal surveillance, security and border protection activities, throughout Australia’s waters.

The ACBPS are currently updating their entire patrol boat fleet with eight new 58m Cape Class Patrol Boats, designed, constructed and maintained by Austal Australia.

With the MMEA policing all of Malaysia's maritime zones, which includes over 4,900 kilometres of coastline and one of the world's busiest sea lanes – the Malacca Strait, Austal shall offer through-life capability management services to the Bay Class Patrol Boats, in order to maintain the excellent condition in which the MMEA received them.

Austal