Royal Australian Navy's first Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel delivered

The Australian Department of Defence has accepted the first Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV), the future HMAS Arafura, for further test and evaluation ahead of delivery to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

The future Arafura is the first of class vessel delivered under project SEA 1180, built by Luerssen Australia at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia.

The project will deliver six Arafura-class OPVs to the RAN, with the first two constructed at Osborne. The remaining four vessels are under construction at Henderson in Western Australia.

The Arafura-class vessels will be part of a wider Navy Minor War Vessel Fleet supporting civil maritime security and enhanced regional engagement in the Southwest Pacific and Southeast Asia.

The future Arafura will now sail to its homeport at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, before commissioning into the RAN fleet later this year.

Named for the Arafura Sea between Australia and Indonesia, the OPV has a length of 80 metres and a displacement of 1,640 tonnes.