The ship is the first of two Cape-class patrol boats to be delivered to the Royal Australian Navy, the second having been . The ship was built by Austal in Henderson, Western Australia, commissioned in April 2017 and based at in Queensland.[1]
Austal was originally awarded a $350million contract to construct eight Cape-class patrol boats for the Australian Border Force to replace the Bay-class patrol boats in 2011, with the eight boats delivered between 2013 and 2015. A $63million contract for two more boats, for lease by the RAN, was awarded to Austal by the National Australia Bank in December 2015.[1] Subsequently, the RAN ordered another eight Evolved Cape-class patrol boats from Austal.[2] [3] In November 2023, the RAN ordered a further two evolved Cape-class patrols, at a cost of A$157.1million.[4]
Unlike the later ten boats, which are in a grey colour scheme, Cape Inscription and Cape Fourcroy are in the blue and white colour scheme of the eight Australian Border Force vessels, but without the red stripe.[5]