Austal Australia has delivered the 20th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Department of Defence.
The vessel, RKS Tobwaan Mainiku for the Republic of Kiribati, was accepted by representatives of the Department of Defence at the Austal shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia on 12 July 2024.
It will be Kiribati's second GCPB after RKS Teanoai II which was delivered in 2021. ADM understands that the vessel will be based at Kiritimati Island in the country's East.
Kiribati was originally only expected to receive one GCPB, however, as part of a 2023 "Nurturing the Partnership" Memorandum of Understanding signed between Australia and Kiribati.
"The Austal Australia team, together with our valued supply chain and defence industry partners, including the Department of Defence and the Royal Australian Navy, have now delivered 20 Guardian-class patrol boats to the Australian Government since December 2018," said Austal CEO Paddy Gregg.
"Effectively, we’ve delivered one new Guardian-class Patrol Boat every four months (on average) over the past 5 years," he added.