 Ocean Shield during International Fleet Review 2013
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Name | Ocean Shield |
| Owner | Australian Border Force |
| Operator | Australian Border Force |
| Ordered | 10 December 2010 |
| 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 |
| History | |
| Name | 2010–2012: Skandi Bergen |
| Owner | 2010–2012: DOF Subsea Rederi AS |
| Operator | 2010–2012: DOF Management AS |
| Homeport | 2010–2012: Nassau,  Bahamas |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Offshore Subsea Construction and Maintenance Vessel |
| Tonnage | 8,368 gross tons |
| Displacement | 8,500 tonnes (full load) |
| Length | 110.9 m (364 ft) length overall |
| Beam | 22.05 m (72.3 ft) |
| Draught | 6.6 m (22 ft) |
| Depth | 9 m (30 ft) |
| Ice class | DNV ICE-1B |
| Installed power | 4 × Wärtsilä 6L32, 2,880-kilowatt (3,860 hp) each |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Capacity | 120 |
| Crew | 22 + 50 |
| Armament |
|
| Aviation facilities | Helipad |
Australian Border Force Cutter (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 Shield's 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.