Keka-class patrol boat explained

The Keka-class patrol boats are vessels designed by ASC Pty. Ltd. (formerly named Australian Submarine Corporation) originally for the Royal Thai Navy (3 vessels). A second variant series was designed for the Hong Kong Marine Police (6 vessels).

Royal Thai Navy

Australian company ASC and Thai company Silkline International formed a joint venture to build three Keka-class patrol boats for the Royal Thai Navy at Silkline's yard at Pak Nam Pran, Prachaub Krirkhan, Thailand.^[1]

Series T.81

The Keka-class vessels for the Royal Thai Navy are designated as the T.81 Series and have the following characteristics:^[2]

• Displacement: normal load 95 tonnes; full load 110 tonnes
• Armament: 40/60 Bofors; Oerlikon GAM-C01 20 mm, 2 x 0.50" machine gun
• Main Engines: 2 x MTU 16V2000 TE90
• Radar: Anritsu

Hong Kong Marine Police

The Hong Kong Marine Police had a programme to replace 35 patrol boats that had previously been delivered between 1980 and 1992. The first to be replaced were the Damen Mk I class for which the ASC designed Keka class was chosen. They were built by Cheoy Lee Shipyards in Hong Kong and in their yard in mainland China between 2000 and 2005. They were ordered in two batches of two and four boats.^[3]

Vessels

Ship	Delivery	Builder	Owner	Comments
Thailand
T.81	4 August 1999	ASC / Silkline JV
T.82	9 December 1999	ASC / Silkline JV
T.83	27 October 2000	ASC / Silkline JV
Hong Kong
PL60	October 2002	Cheoy Lee Shipyard		Per HKMP press release^[4]
PL61	October 2002	Cheoy Lee Shipyard
PL62	5 May 2004	Cheoy Lee Shipyard		Per HKMP press release^[5]
PL63	5 May 2004	Cheoy Lee Shipyard
PL64	2005	Cheoy Lee Shipyard		Delivery date assumed from reference.^[6]
PL65	2005	Cheoy Lee Shipyard

External links

• Web site: Hong Kong Police, Vehicles and Vessels . Hong Kong Police Force. 2011-04-02.
• Web site: Hong Kong (Hong Kong), The market – Australasia and East Asia . Janes . 2011-04-02 . 2012-04-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120402185008/http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Naval-Construction-and-Retrofit-Markets/Hong-Kong-Hong-Kong.html . dead .
• Web site: Keka class launch in first night-time rescue . Offbeat, The Newspaper of the Hong Kong Police Force. 2011-04-02.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Australian ship builder to build landing craft for Royal Thai Navy. Pattaya Mail. 2011-04-02.
2. Web site: Royal Thai Navy Ship Specification; Thai Navy's warships. Thai Armed Force. 2011-04-02. 2011-10-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20111017083358/http://thaiarmedforce.com/inventory/51-rtn-ship-spec.html. dead.
3. Web site: Hong Kong (Hong Kong), The market – Australasia and East Asia . Janes . 2011-04-02 . 2012-04-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120402185008/http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Naval-Construction-and-Retrofit-Markets/Hong-Kong-Hong-Kong.html . dead .
4. Web site: New launches boost operational efficiency of marine police . Hong Kong Police. 2011-04-02.
5. Web site: New launches boost operational efficiency of marine police . Hong Kong Police. 2011-04-02.
6. Web site: Hong Kong (Hong Kong), The market – Australasia and East Asia . Janes . 2011-04-02 . 2012-04-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120402185008/http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Naval-Construction-and-Retrofit-Markets/Hong-Kong-Hong-Kong.html . dead .