ACV Ocean Protector

ACV Ocean Protector in Hobart, October 2011
History
Australia
Name: Ocean Protector
Owner: DMAA Seaforce Pty Ltd
Operator: Australian Customs and Border Protection Service
Builder: Aker Yards ASA, Tulcea, Romania
Laid down: 25 August 2006
Launched: 28 January 2007
Acquired: September 2010
In service: October 2010
Out of service: 31 December 2014
Homeport: Fremantle
Identification:
General characteristics in Customs service
Type: Offshore 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

Australian Customs Vessel (ACV) Ocean Protector was an armed patrol vessel used by the Customs Marine Unit of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. Originally built during 2006 and 2007 as an offshore support vessel for Norwegian company DOF ASA, the ship initially operated under the names Geo Bergen and Skandi Bergen. In 2010, the ship was chartered by the Australian government, as a replacement for the Customs vessel Oceanic Viking. Ocean Protector operated with Customs until 2014, when her charter was terminated and she was replaced by Ocean Shield. The ship was renamed Skandi Protector and spent 2015 supporting subsea projects in the Asia Pacific region. At the end of 2015, DOF ASA announced the sale of the ship to the Australian government.

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 Template:Covnert.[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]

The ship was laid down at Aker Yards ASA in Tulcea, Romania on 25 August 2006.[1] She was launched on 28 January 2007, and completed on 3 August 2007.[1]

Operational history

The ship was originally operated by Norwegian shipping company DOF ASA, and based in Bergen. Originally operating under the name Geo Bergen, this was changed to Skandi Bergen on 19 July 2007.

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.[3][2] 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]

Ocean Protector was originally chartered by Customs until 2016.[8][9] At this time, the ship would be returned to the owners, and replaced by ADV Ocean Shield, a sister ship purchased by the Department of Defence to close a sealift capability gap while the Canberra-class amphibious warfare ships were completed.[8][9] The changeover was brought forward to 2014, with Ocean Shield acquired on 1 July, and funding for Ocean Protector's charter terminated on 31 December.[10]

After being returned to DOF ASA, the ship was refurbished and upgraded (with two Remotely operated underwater vehicles installed), renamed Skandi Protector and assigned to subsea projects in the Asia Pacific Region.[11][12] In March, DOF ASA secured a three-year master services contract to work on Chevron Corporation projects on the Australian North West Shelf.[11] Skandi Protector was assigned to the contract, and operated out of Perth, Western Australia.[11] In November 2015, DOF ASA announced the sale of the vessel to the Australian government for NOK 300 million, with the ship to be handed over in early 2016, and another ship to be assigned to the Chevron contract.[12]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Saunders & Philpott (eds.), IHS Jane's Fighting Ships 2015-2016, p. 39
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ocean Protector Fact Sheet" (PDF). Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Skandi Bergen Becomes ACV Ocean Protector" (PDF). Horizons (STX Marine). November 2010. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014.
  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 Defense 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. 1 2 "Ocean Shield the Navy's newest humanitarian and disaster relief vessel" (Press release). Offices of the Minister for Defence and Minister for Defence Materiel. 3 June 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  9. 1 2 Ellery, David (20 March 2012). "Defence buys boat bound for Customs". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  10. ↑ Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (2014), pp. 44, 50
  11. 1 2 3 "DOF Subsea Asia Pacific wins Chevron IMR contract". DOF ASA News (DOF ASA). 12 March 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Sale of Skandi Protector". DOF ASA News (DOF ASA). 30 November 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.

References

Books

External links

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