ADV Cape Capricorn

Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) Cape Capricorn, named after Cape Capricorn in Queensland, is an evolved Cape-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).[1][2][3]

ADV Cape Capricorn at Austal shipyards in Henderson, Western Australia in October 2022
History
Australia
Namesake	Cape Capricorn
Builder	Austal, Henderson, Western Australia
Commissioned	13 February 2023
Homeport	HMAS Coonawarra
Identification	IMO number: 4764109 MMSI number: 503104000 Callsign: VKBT Pennant number: 317
General characteristics
Class and type	Cape-class patrol boat
Length	58.1 m (190 ft 7 in)
Beam	10.6 m (34 ft 9 in)
Draught	3.1 m (10 ft 2 in)
Propulsion	2 x Caterpillar 3516C diesels 6,770 horsepower (5,050 kW) 2 shafts, 1 bow thruster
Speed	26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph)
Range	4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	25 standard, 32 maximum
Armament	2 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine guns

The ship is the fourth of eight evolved Cape-class patrol boats to be delivered to the Royal Australian Navy. Prior to Cape Capricorn, the RAN already operated the Cape-class patrol boats Cape Fourcroy and Cape Inscription as well as the evolved Cape-class patrol boats Cape Otway, Cape Peron and Cape Naturaliste.[1][2][3]

The ship was built by Austal in Henderson, Western Australia, commissioned on 13 February 2023 and based at HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin, Northern Territory. Cape Capricorn was officially welcomed in Darwin in June 2023, alongside her sister ship Cape Naturaliste, becoming the first evolved Cape-class patrol boats to be based there. The patrol boat's primary duty lies in fisheries protection, immigration, customs and drug law enforcement operations.[1][2][3]

The ship is one of the original six evolved Cape-class patrol boats the RAN ordered in April 2020 to replace the Armidale-class patrol boats in this role, at a projected cost of A$324 million. This order was subsequently expanded by another two boats in April 2022, at an additional projected cost of $124 million.[4]