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Royal Australian Navy Armidale Class patrol boat HMAS Maryborough II is awaiting decommissioning later this month in Queensland after 15 years of service.
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The Austral-built 56.8-metre-long HMAS Maryborough II is touring the Fraser Coast Region, Bundaberg and Maryborough in Queensland, ahead of its decommissioning on 28 September 2023.
It was originally commissioned in December 2007 and used for Operation Sovereign Borders, fisheries protection, immigration, customs and drug law enforcement operations working with the Australian Border Force.
The ship is able to reach a top speed of 25 knots, range of 5,556 kilometre at 12 knots, houses a crew of 21 personnel, and is armed with a 25mm Rafael M242 Bushmaster, two 12.7mm machine guns, electronic countermeasures, surface search and navigation radar.
As part of its final deployment, HMAS Maryborough welcomed more than 1,600 visitors aboard during an open day on the Gold Coast on 10 September. Visitors were given a tour of the ship, including a weapons and boarding party display, damage control firefighting equipment, and a ride in one of the ship’s two 7.2m jet rigid hull inflatable boats.
Maryborough sailor Midshipman Jackson Marsh said opening the ship to the public was something special.
“To engage with the public and celebrate the life and service of a ship such as Maryborough was an experience and privilege I am proud to have been a part of,” MIDN Marsh said.
The Armidale Class patrol boat was named after the original Australian minesweeper HMAS Maryborough built in 1941 during World War II, which received battle honours in the Pacific in 1942, the Indian Ocean in 1942–44, and Sicily in 1943 before being decommissioned in 1945.
