Britton Maritime Systems to build 12 Gemini seaboats for Australian Navy Cape Class Patrol Boat.

According to a statement released by the Australian Department of Defense on December 3, 2020, Sydney based company Britton Maritime Systems has been awarded a $9 million contract to build 12 Gemini seaboats for the new evolved Australian Navy Cape Class Patrol Boat.
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rigid inflatable boat RIB boat of Britton Maritime Systems. (Picture source Britton Maritime Systems)

Australian Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC said the contract demonstrates the Morrison Government’s commitment to supporting Australian industry and Australian jobs. Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said the Gemini seaboat acquisition would invest more than $6 million into the local industry.

The Gemini is specifically designed for the Cape Class vessels, and are already in operation with the current fleet of Navy Cape Class Patrol Boats. The seaboats are the primary mission system for the Patrol Boats, providing an insertion capability for boarding and landing parties in support of operational requirements.

Two seaboats will be delivered and fitted to each of the six evolved Cape Class Patrol Boats currently under construction at the Austal Shipyard in Western Australia.

The Cape class is a ship class of 10 large patrol boats operated by the Marine Unit of the Australian Border Force and Royal Australian Navy. Ordered in 2011, the vessels were built by Austal to replace Customs' Bay-class patrol boats, and entered service from 2013 onwards.

Britton Maritime Systems (BMS) has been established since 1987 specializing in the manufacture, maintenance and integration of military/law enforcement and commercial craft. As BMS has evolved over the last twenty years, a far greater emphasis has been placed on the construction and maintenance of military and law enforcement vessels.

The company’s base is Kurnell, near Cronulla in southern Sydney where all design, production, and manufacturing operations take place. This includes Gemini rigid inflatable boats (RIBs), Ellis tactical boats, specialized fire pumps, commercial craft and specialised unmanned surface vessels (USV). The company has also increased its product and service range with the introduction of Shark Marine underwater navigation and search systems ( in service with the Royal Australian Navy), Telephonics Trulink Wireless communication systems (in service with the Australian Defence Force), Vessel Arrest Systems and a new line of boat designs from Shoreline and Brunswick.