Strategic Marine Delivers Ashmore Reef

Strategic Marine, a leading specialist shipbuilder, has delivered the On-Station vessel “Thaiyak” to the Australian Customs & Border Protection Service (ACBPS). 

The vessel was launched from Strategic Marine's facility in Vietnam in March this year and was officially accepted in Fremantle, Western Australia, by representatives of Australian Customs & Border Protection Service yesterday, Monday 23 June.

The 40-metre on-station vessel, built at Strategic's multi-purpose shipyard in Vung Tau, Vietnam, is designed for flexible self-sufficiency and long term deployment at Ashmore Reef, an external territory of Australia 450 nautical miles East from Darwin in the Indian Ocean. 

The vessel will be a strong physical presence in the Ashmore Reef Marine Reserve and surrounding environmentally sensitive areas acting as a deterrent for illegal activities and will serve as a platform for scientific and environmental research in these areas.
The vessel also has the capacity as a temporary holding facility for 24 additional passengers.

"The boat looks fantastic and it’s been a culmination of a lot of hard work on behalf of the project team - the Strategic team - and Gardline Australia, our partners in this project," said Ian Laverock, ACBPS National Manager Maritime Capability.  

This is new territory for ACBPS, as it marks the first time the authority has commissioned a ship for commercial use outside of Australia. 

"It’s been a good process in terms of separate stakeholder groups getting together using a standard Commonwealth procurement process and adapting to commercial shipbuilding processes for the Commonwealth," said  Matthew Travers, ACBPS Project Manager, "and for Strategic Marine and Gardline's understanding of Commonwealth’s methods and ways of doing business."

He added, "The relationship has been terrific, very harmonious."

"This has been an outstanding contribution by everyone who worked on the project," said Reece Newbold, Business Development Manager at Strategic Marine. "We have designed and manufactured a whole new kind of seagoing vessel, and this marks yet another milestone for us in shipbuilding growth and diversity." 

The order was awarded last year following a successful tender prepared between Gardline Australia Pty Ltd, Strategic Marine, the builder of the new vessel, and McAlpine Marine design Pty Ltd.

Among the vessel's technical specifications are twin Caterpillar C32 970kW main engines, Twin Caterpillar C9 149ekW generators and a 149kW bow thruster.

The vessel is also fitted with two Norsafe davits capable of at sea launch and retrieval of two 7.5 metre ship’s boats.  The vessel has a nominal draft of 2.4 metres and beam of 11.5 metres with an economical cruising speed of 10 knots and a top speed of 12 knots. There is accommodation for 17 crew and 24 passengers, with a short term holding capability of an additional 25 passengers on sheltered deck space.