Bay-class patrol boat

The Bay class is a class of eight armed patrol boats, built by Austal Ships and used by the Customs Marine Unit of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. 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 was not issued until June of that year. The availability of the Bay class ships decreased during the later years of their service life.

Design and construction
Bay class vessels have a displacement of 134 tons, are 38.2 m long, have a beam of 7.2 m, and a draught of 2.4 m. The propulsion system consists of two MTU 16V 2000 M70 diesels, supplemented by a VosperThornycroft bow thruster. The patrol boats have a maximum speed of 20 kn, and a maximum range of 1000 nmi. 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 Racel Decca surface search radar operating in the E/F and I bands, and a Wesmar SS 390E dipping sonar. A Bay class vessel has a crew of 12.

The Bay class was built by Austal Ships. 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 Armidale class patrol boats in use with the Royal Australian Navy, and the 10 patrol boats used by the Yemen Navy.

Operational history
The eight patrol boats are operated by the Customs Marine Unit of the Australian Customs Service. 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 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and the Royal Australian Navy.

Bay class vessels often operate on border protection duties under Border Protection Command. 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.

Replacement
The Bay class were due to be replaced in 2010, but it was not until June of that year that a request for tender was issued for eight new, larger patrol boats. Austal received the tender for eight 57.8 m patrol boats on 12 August 2011. Construction of the vessels, designated the Cape class, was to start in February 2012, and the first vessel was launched in January 2013.

The new patrol boats will enter service between March 2013 and August 2015, with the Bay class likely to remain in service until the latter date.

Ships
ACV Roebuck Bay (ACV 10) ACV Holdfast Bay (ACV 20) ACV Botany Bay (ACV 30) ACV Hervey Bay (ACV 40) ACV Corio Bay (ACV 50) ACV Arnhem Bay (ACV 60) ACV Dame Roma Mitchell (ACV 70) ACV Storm Bay (ACV 80)