HMAS Cape Naturaliste
HMAS Cape Naturaliste, formerly the Australian Defence Vessel Cape Naturaliste, named after Cape Naturaliste in Western Australia, is an evolved of the Royal Australian Navy.
The ship is the third of ten evolved Cape-class patrol boats to be delivered to the Royal Australian Navy. Prior to Cape Naturaliste, the RAN already operated the Cape-class patrol boats and as well as the evolved Cape-class patrol boats and.
The ship was built by Austal in Henderson, Western Australia, accepted on 4 November 2022 and based at in Darwin, Northern Territory. Cape Naturaliste was officially welcomed in Darwin in June 2023, alongside her sister ship, becoming the first evolved Cape-class patrol boats to be based there. The patrol boat's primary duty lies in fisheries protection, immigration, customs and drug law enforcement operations.
The ship is one of the original six evolved Cape-class patrol boats the RAN ordered in April 2020 to replace the s in this role, at a projected cost of A$324million. This order was subsequently expanded by another two boats in April 2022, at an additional projected cost of $124million. In November 2023, the RAN ordered a further two evolved Cape-class patrols, at a cost of A$157.1million.
On 12 December 2024, four of the Cape-class vessels were commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy, one of them the Cape Naturaliste.