OPV ''Nemesis'' is an

offshore patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and th ...

of the

New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...

. It was purchased in 2008 to replace two older 22-metre vessels. It is designed to support a range of police operations up to out to sea, including detecting

illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

and

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

and supporting

counter terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to com ...

and

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

missions. The design specifications for the ship were drawn in 2005, taking into account lessons from the Pong Su incident. ''Nemesis'' was built by

Tenix Defence Tenix Defence was Australia's largest defence contractor with core capabilities in Aerospace, Land, Marine and Electronic Systems applications. BAE Systems announced its intention to acquire the company from Tenix in January 2008 and the acquis ...

in Henderson, Western Australia based on the ships built by Tenix for the

Philippine Coast Guard The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG; ) is the third armed uniformed service of the country attached to the Philippines' Department of Transportation, tasked primarily with enforcing laws within Philippine waters, conducting maritime security ope ...

. At the time of its construction, ''Nemesis'' was the largest purpose-built police boat in the Southern Hemisphere.Police Marine Power
Caterpillar Energy Solutions The vessel is also used to assist the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and the

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

. Officers on board carry firearms and the vessel itself is able to be fitted with mounted weapons. ''Nemesis'' was part of the support patrol for the 2009 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. In 2010, the NSW Police was criticised for only operating the ship for 403 hours in 2009. Deployments were subsequently increased to 80 hours per month.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nemesis 2008 ships New South Wales Police Force Patrol vessels of Australia Ships built in Western Australia