Navy's eleventh Armidale Class Patrol Boat commissions

10 July 2007

In a centuries old tradition, the Royal Australian Navy's Armidale Class Patrol Boat (ACPB), HMAS Childers, commissioned alongside Trinity Wharf in Cairns.

Childers is the eleventh of fourteen state-of-the-art ACPBs to be commissioned and was built by Western Australian shipbuilder Austal Ships. The first ACPB, HMAS Armidale, was commissioned in June 2005 and several of her sister ships are already operational.

In today's ceremony, the ship's Commissioning Order was read and the Australian White Ensign was hoisted for the first time onboard Childers.

In attendance representing the Minister for Defence was the Parlimentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Mr Peter Lindsay and the Commander Australian Fleet, RADM Nigel Coates AM, RAN.

"This is a great day for the Navy, my crew and the two towns of Childers. Today marks the culmination of many months of hard work in getting Childers ready for her mission." Commanding Officer HMAS Childers, LCDR Mal Parsons, RAN said.

"HMAS Childers, with her state-of-the-art design, will provide considerable improvements in both operational capability as well as crew habitability," RADM Nigel Coates said.

"The Fremantle Class Patrol Boats conducted sterling work over the past 27 years, but these new vessels will add a new dimension to border security."

Childers is the third of four ACPBs to be based in Cairns, Queensland as part of the ARDENT Division, which consists of four patrol boats and six crews. The multi-crewing concept is designed to maximise platform availability without compromising crew respite and training periods.