The Marine Unit, formerly the Australian Customs Service National Marine Unit, is a division of the

Australian Border Force The Australian Border Force (ABF) is a federal law enforcement agency, part of the Department of Home Affairs, responsible for offshore and onshore border control enforcement, investigations, compliance and detention operations in Australia. Thr ...

which acts as a Coast Guard in guarding Australia's coast. The Marine Unit focuses on surveillance and response activities within the Australian Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ), and the operation and training of ships and crews to do so.

Operations

The CMU and the Border Protection Division (formerly known as Coastwatch) make up the Customs contribution to

Maritime Border Command The Maritime Border Command (MBC) is Australia's principal civil maritime security agency, a de facto coast guard, operating in the maritime domain to ensure compliance with Australia's maritime legislation by foreign and domestic non-state acto ...

, a joint

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...

with the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...

and incorporating assets from the

Australian Fisheries Management Authority The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) is the Australian Government agency responsible for the management and sustainable use of fisheries resources including combating illegal fishing activities in the Australian Fishing Zone that c ...

, the

Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service was the Australian government agency responsible for enforcing Australian quarantine laws, as part of the Department of Agriculture. Following a period operating under the name DAFF Biosecurit ...

, and state-level agencies. Maritime Border Command is responsible for protecting Australia's maritime areas, offshore assets, and external territories from threats, including the

exploitation of natural resources The exploitation of natural resources is the use of natural resources for economic growth, sometimes with a negative connotation of accompanying environmental degradation. It started to emerge on an industrial scale in the 19th century as the e ...

, people smuggling, importation or exportation of drugs and other illegal items, piracy, and terrorism.

Facilities

maintains a permanent base of operations for the Marine Unit at the

Port Darwin Port Darwin is the port in Darwin, Northern Territory, in northern Australia. The port has operated in a number of locations, including Stokes Hill Wharf, Cullen Bay and East Arm Wharf. In 2015, a 99-year lease was granted to the Chinese-owned ...

East Arm Wharf.

Ships

Ships operated by the CMU were referred to as Australian Customs Vessels (ACVs) until the creation of the Australian Border Force in 2015 when the prefix of vessels operated by the CMU was changed to Australian Border Force Cutter (ABFC).

Current Ships

The largest ship in the

fleet is the offshore patrol vessel ABFC ''Ocean Shield'', which entered service in June 2012 and is a sister ship to ADV ''Ocean Protector''. ABFC ''Thaiyak'' is a unique vessel delivered in June 2014 intended to replace the ACV ''Ashmore Guardian'' for use around the Ashmore and Cartier Islands. In addition, charter arrangements give Customs access to an additional twenty vessels of various sizes and types; these are called on when required to transport apprehended foreign fishermen and illegal entrants, or tow captured vessels.

Small Boats

In 2017

signed contracts to acquire 13 new Habour and Costal Patrol boats. These vessels are stationed around the country and are used for a variety of operations including costal patrol, survillence and

drug interdiction The war on drugs is a global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the United States.Cockburn and St. Clair, 199 ...

. File:Rottnest Island, Fremantle, 2021 (03).jpg, ABF Boat Rottnest Island, Fremantle File:Pilbara Coast, Fremantle, 2020 (01).jpg, An ABF harbour patrol vessel, Pilbara Coast, Fremantle, 2020 File:Australian Border Force rigid hulled inflatable boat Rottnest Island near Kwinana Bulk Terminal, August 2021 06.jpg, Australian Border Force rigid-hulled inflatable boat Rottnest Island near Kwinana Bulk Terminal, August 2021

Future Ships

The

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...

has procured 6 Evolved Cape-class patrol vessels to act as a

stopgap {{Short pages monitor