A ceremony was held August 29 to mark the laying of the keel of Arafura-class Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) 6, NUSHIP Carpentaria at Civmec in Henderson, Western Australia. The vessel is the final Arafura-class OPV under construction for the Royal Australian Navy.
Australian DoD press release
Rear Admiral Michael Houghton, Head of Patrol Boats and Specialist Ships represented the ceremony, honouring tradition by positioning a coin under the keel of NUSHIP Carpentaria.
“A keel laying ceremony which marks the beginning of a ship’s construction, is an important naval tradition which is believed to bring good luck for the vessel’s build and life at sea,” Rear Admiral Michael Houghton said.
“The OPV program is a major contributor to continuous naval shipbuilding in Australia, which creates and sustains local jobs and harnesses our national defence industry’s local talent and technology.
“Defence investment in a sovereign Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Enterprise is expected to support around 8,500 jobs in shipbuilding and sustainment by 2030.
“OPVs help patrol and secure Australia’s maritime border alongside the Evolved Cape Class patrol boats. They also play an important role in Navy’s commitment to supporting the long-term objectives of the National Defence Strategy.”
The first two vessels were constructed at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia with the remaining four are currently under construction at the Henderson Maritime Precinct. The first ship, HMAS Arafura, was commissioned into service on 28 June 2025 with the second OPV, NUSHIP Eyre, expected to be delivered later this year.
The OPVs are a more versatile platform compared with previous classes of patrol vessels. They are able to operate over longer distances and can be reconfigured to perform a number of tasks and roles originally carried out by several different classes of vessels.
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Naval News comments: About Arafura-class OPV
As Naval News has previously reported, procurement of Arafura experienced significant delays and revisions. The effort, dubbed SEA 1180 saw specification changes over integration issues such as the desired main gun. The current Albanese government also cut overall procurement from twelve to six vessels. Canberra now deems the design insufficient to new requirements of the Australian Navy for more robustly armed and survivable combatants.
Nevertheless the Australian Navy arguably requires more hulls for the active and ageing fleet. RAN is pushed to maintain persistent patrols across extensive Australian territorial waters and its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). In an event receiving significant local attention, the Chinese Navy (PLAN) in earlier this year conducted a circumnavigation of Australia. The operation, including a live fire-drill, illustrates a trend of increasing naval activity near Australian waters. Such events create an increasing demand for maritime awareness with both Australia and News Zealand. Additionally the primary Australian security partner, the United States, continues to place more emphasis on burden-sharing, including in the maritime domain.
Specifications:
- Length: 80 m
- Beam: 13 m
- Draught: 4 m
- Speed: 20 knots (maximum)
- Range: 7,400 kilometres
- Displacement: approx. 1,640 t
- Crew: 40 crew with accommodation for up to 60 personnel
- Armament: 40mm gun / 2 x 50 calibre machine guns
