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ABFC Ocean Shield

Offshore patrol vessel operated by the Australian Border Force

Summary

Offshore patrol vessel operated by the Australian Border Force

Field	Value
display_title	ABFC Ocean Shield
section1	{{Infobox ship/image
image	ADV Ocean Shield.jpg
image_caption	Ocean Shield during International Fleet Review 2013
section2	{{Infobox ship/career
country	Australia
flag	[[File:Australian Border Force Flag.svg	70px]]
name	Ocean Shield
owner	Australian Border Force
operator	Australian Border Force
ordered	10 December 2010
builder	STX OSV, Tulcea, Romania, Outfitting=STX OSV, Søvik, Norway,
yard_number	771
laid_down	11 April 2011
launched	22 October 2011
completed	22 May 2012
acquired	19 March 2012
in_service	30 June 2012
homeport	Sydney, Australia
identification	*
status	In service
section3	{{Infobox ship/career
name	2010–2012: Skandi Bergen*
owner	2010–2012: DOF Subsea Rederi AS
operator	2010–2012: DOF Management AS
homeport	*2010–2012: Nassau, Bahamas
section4	{{Infobox ship/characteristics
type	Offshore Subsea Construction and Maintenance Vessel
tonnage	8,368 gross tons
displacement	8,500 tonnes (full load)
length	110.9 m length overall
beam	22.05 m
draught	6.6 m
depth	9 m
ice_class	DNV ICE-1B
power	4 × Wärtsilä 6L32, 2880 kW each
propulsion	*Diesel-electric; Two Rolls-Royce Contaz 35 azimuth thrusters (2×3,000kW)
*One retractable azimuth thruster in bow (1,500kW){{convert	1500	kW	adj	on}} bow azimuth thruster
speed	16 kn
capacity	120
crew	22 + 50
armament	*Unarmed (RAN)
aircraft_facilities	Helipad

Call sign: VHEH
Two bow thrusters (2×1,800kW)
One retractable azimuth thruster in bow (1,500kW)1500 kW bow azimuth thruster
2 x 12.7 mm machine guns (Customs) Australian Border Force Cutter Ocean Shield (ABFC Ocean Shield) is an offshore patrol vessel operated by the Australian Border Force. The ship was originally ordered in 2010 by DOF Subsea as an offshore support vessel, and was laid down by STX OSV as MSV Skandi Bergen in 2011. In 2012, the Australian Department of Defence was seeking a short-term replacement for the decommissioned Kanimbla-class amphibious landing ships, and negotiated to purchase the under-construction Skandi Bergen from DOF Subsea. The ship was completed, and entered Royal Australian Navy (RAN) service in mid-2012 as the civilian-crewed Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) Ocean Shield.

Following the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Ocean Shield was one of several Australian vessels to take part in the search.

Ocean Shields operation was only intended to cover the shortfall in RAN sealift capability until the Canberra-class landing helicopter dock ships entered service, and in 2014, the vessel was handed over to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (the precursor agency to the Border Force), with the ship's designation changing to '*Australian Customs Vessel (ACV) Ocean Shield'''. The restructuring of Customs to create the Border Force occurred in mid-2015, with *Ocean Shield''s prefix changing from ACV to ABFC.

Construction and acquisition

The offshore construction vessel was ordered on 10 December 2010 by DOF Subsea, from STX OSV. The ship, based on the STX OSCV 11 design and to be named Skandi Bergen, was laid down at STX OSV's shipyard in Tulcea, Romania on 11 April 2011 with yard number 771, and launched on 22 October 2011.

She has a displacement of 8,500 tonnes and a tonnage value of 8,368 gross tons, a length overall of 110.9 m, a beam of 22.05 m, a depth of 9 m, and a draught of 6.6 m. Maximum speed is 16 kn. Power is generated by four Wärtsilä 6L32 2880 kW medium speed diesel generators. The ship has a complement of 22, plus accommodation for another 50 crew, and basic facilities to carry a further 120. A helipad suitable for up to medium-size helicopters is sited at the ship's bow, above the bridge. She also has 1000 sqm of deck area for cargo and equipment.

On 19 March 2012, the Australian government announced the purchase of Skandi Bergen in a group of Defence acquisitions. Fitting out was completed on 22 May 2012, and on 3 June 2012, the ship's new name, Ocean Shield, was announced. Although unarmed in RAN service, after the transfer to Customs, the ship was fitted with two 12.7 mm machine guns.

Operational history

Sea trials were overseen by Teekay Shipping. Ocean Shield arrived in Fremantle, Australia on 28 June 2012, and was accepted into naval service on 30 June.

In October 2013, the ship participated in the International Fleet Review 2013 in Sydney.

''Ocean Shield'' deploying [[Bluefin-21]] during the search for the missing [[Malaysia Airlines Flight 370]] in April 2014.

In March 2014, Ocean Shield was sent to participate in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, off the west coast of Australia. The vessel, fitted with a towed pinger locator on loan from the United States Navy, sailed from Perth on 31 March, expecting to begin searching on 3 April for the underwater locator beacon attached to the aircraft's flight recorders. Starting on 14 April 2014, Ocean Shield stopped towing the pinger locator and instead deployed the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Bluefin-21, a sidescan sonar robotic submarine, to map the area.

The naval service of Ocean Shield was only intended to cover the drop in capability after the Kanimblas were decommissioned until the Canberra-class landing helicopter dock ships entered service. Once achieved, Ocean Shield would be transferred to the Customs Marine Unit of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, as a replacement for Ocean Protector, a sister ship operating under charter. However, in 2016 Australia re-purchased Ocean Protector.

ABFC Ocean Shield at the Australian Marine Complex, Henderson, now in the colors of the Australian Border Force

After being transferred to Customs, Ocean Shield received modifications in Singapore and Hobart to improve its suitability for patrol tasks. The ship entered operational service in November 2014. It is funded to spend 300 days conducting patrols each year. In Customs service, Ocean Shield is armed with two machine guns, and received the ship prefix "ACV" (Australian Customs Vessel). Although primarily tasked to Australia's northern waters as part of Operation Sovereign Borders, Ocean Shield is capable of operating in the Southern Ocean.

On 16 April 2015, Ocean Shield commenced a 42-day deployment to the Southern Ocean: the first Customs patrol of the region since 2012.

Following the creation of the Australian Border Force in July 2015, Ocean Shields prefix was changed to "ABFC" (Australian Border Force Cutter).

Citations

References

;Books

;News articles

;Press releases

;Websites

References

{{csr
MarineLog, ''DOF Subsea orders OSCV to replace newbuild sold to Australia''
The propulsion system consists of two [[Rolls-Royce plc. Rolls-Royce]] Contaz 35 {{convert. 3000. kW. 1800. kW. 1500. kW
The vessel was required to supplement the RAN's [[sealift]] capability of the RAN after the [[Kanimbla-class landing platform amphibious
Although operated as part of the RAN, ''Ocean Shield'' carried a civilian crew, and used the [[ship prefix. prefix]] ADV (Australian Defence Vessel), instead of being commissioned and receiving the [[Her Majesty's Australian Ship
(2013). "Participating Warships". Royal Australian Navy.
BBC, ''Malaysia Airways MH370: Relatives in Beijing clashes''
McPhedran & Swallow, ''Weather forces Navy ship to narrowly miss vital clue in Malaysia Airlines mystery''
CBS News, ''Warship with black box detector joins search for missing Malaysian jet''
BBC News, ''Malaysia flight MH370: No time limit on search, says Tony Abbott''
Spooner, Rania. (15 April 2014). "Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: sea-bed hunt hits hurdle as Bluefin-21 resurfaces". The Sydney Morning Herald.
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, ''Australian Customs and Border Protection Service: Annual Report 2014–15'', pp. 44, 50
"Australian Border Force Newsroom".
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, ''Australian Customs and Border Protection Service: Annual Report 2014–15'', p. 50
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, ''Australian Customs and Border Protection Service: Annual Report 2014–15'', p. 44

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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