ADV Ocean Protector

Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) Ocean Protector is an armed patrol vessel used by the Customs Marine Unit of the Australian Border Force.

ACV Ocean Protector in Hobart, October 2011
History
Australia
Name: Ocean Protector
Owner: Royal Australian Navy
Operator: Australian Border Force
Builder: Aker Yards ASA, Tulcea, Romania
Yard number: 152
Laid down: 25 August 2006
Launched: 28 January 2007
Completed: 3 August 2007
Acquired: November 2015
In service: January 2016
Homeport: Fremantle,  Australia
Identification:
Status: In Service
History
Name:
  • 2006-2007: Geo Bergen
  • 2007-2010: Skandi Bergen
  • 2010-2015: Ocean Protector
  • 2015: Skandi Protector
Owner: 2006-2015: DOF Subsea Rederi II AS
Operator:
Homeport:
General characteristics
Type: ROV Support Vessel
Tonnage: 6,596 gross tons
Displacement: 8,500 tonnes full load
Length: 105.9 metres (347 ft)
Beam: 21.02 metres (69.0 ft)
Draught: 6.6 metres (22 ft)
Propulsion:
  • Diesel-electric
  • 4 x Wärtsilä 63L2 diesels, 14,804 horsepower (11,039 kW)
  • 2 x motors, 6,438 horsepower (4,801 kW)
  • 2 x directional propellers
Speed: 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range:
  • 23,000 nautical miles (43,000 km; 26,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
  • 9,200 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,600 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried:		 2 x 8.5 m (28 ft) rigid hull Customs Rescue Tenders
Capacity: 120 in austere accommodation
Crew: 22 ship's crew, 50 Customs personnel
Armament: 2 × deck mounted .50 caliber machine guns
Aviation facilities: Helicopter platform

Design and construction

The ship has a full-load displacement of 8,500 tonnes, a tonnage value of 6,596 gross tons, is 105.9 metres (347 ft) in overall length, with a beam of 21.02 metres (69.0 ft), and a draught of 6.6 metres (22 ft).[1] The propulsion machinery is diesel-electric.[1] Four Wärtsilä 63L2 diesels, providing a total of 14,804 horsepower (11,039 kW), generate electricity, which is directed to two 6,438 horsepower (4,801 kW) motors driving directional propellers.[1] Top speed is 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph), with a range of 9,200 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,600 mi).[1][2] Sustainable range is 23,000 nautical miles (43,000 km; 26,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph).[2] A platform suitable for landing a medium helicopter is sited forward, above the bridge.[1] For offshore support duties, 1,100 square metres (12,000 sq ft) of deck area is available, and a 140 tonne crane is fitted.[1]

In Australian Customs service, the ship's normal complement was made up of 22 ship's crew contracted from Teekay, plus up to 50 Customs and associated personnel, along with austere accommodation for a further 120 in a retrofitted deckhouse module.[1][2][3] Two .50 caliber machine guns were fitted, along with two 8.5-metre (28 ft) rigid hull Customs Rescue Tenders.[1][2][3]

Operational history

The ship was laid down at the Aker Yards ASA in Tulcea, Romania on 25 August 2006[1] as a ROV support vessel for Norwegian shipping company DOF Subsea. Based on the Aker ROV 06 DE design, it was named Geo Bergen during construction and launched on 28 January 2007. The ship was renamed to Skandi Bergen on 19 July 2007 prior to its completion on 3 August 2007.[1]

In mid-2010, the Australian government chartered the ship for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, as a replacement for MV Oceanic Viking.[4] The ship was chartered to Customs through DMAA Seaforce.[2] Modifications for Customs service were made by Forgacs Engineering in Newcastle, New South Wales, including the installation of the austere accommodation and medical deckhouse (the latter staffed by a doctor drawn from the Australian Antarctic Division), fitting of weapons and davits for the two Customs tenders, modification and expansion of crew recreation facilities, and sealing of the ship's moon pools.[2][3] On completion, the ship was renamed and redesignated "Australian Customs Vessel (ACV) Ocean Protector".[3] Ocean Protector entered Customs Service in October 2010.[3]

During November 2010, the vessel intercepted suspected drug smugglers off Queensland,[5] and intercepted two asylum seeker boats off Christmas Island in November 2010.[6]

In January 2012, Ocean Protector retrieved three Australian anti-whaling activists who had boarded MV Shōnan Maru 2.[7]

In November 2015, DOF announced the sale of the vessel to the Australian government for NOK 300 million, with the ship to be handed over in early 2016.[8] Upon completion of the sale, the ship was renamed the Australian Defense Vessel (ADV) Ocean Protector.[9]

Ocean Protector still on Customs duty (as of August 2019).


Citations
  1. Saunders & Philpott (eds.), IHS Jane's Fighting Ships 2015-2016, p. 39
  2. "Ocean Protector Fact Sheet" (PDF). Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2014.
  3. "Skandi Bergen Becomes ACV Ocean Protector" (PDF). Horizons. STX Marine. November 2010. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  4. "Mothership being readied for asylum-seekers". The Australian. 30 July 2010.
  5. "Australia stands watch in the Southern Ocean with launch of Ocean Protector". Jane's Defence Security Report. 17 December 2010.
  6. "Two more boats intercepted". news.com.au. 4 November 2010.
  7. "Whaling activists off Japanese ship". Canberra Times. 13 January 2012.
  8. "Sale of Skandi Protector". DOF ASA News. DOF ASA. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  9. http://newsroom.border.gov.au/releases/ocean-protector-boosts-australia-s-border-protection

References
Books
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