Fearless finds a new home with Marine Rescue NSW
Former NSW and Victoria Police launch Fearless will now serve duty as a rescue vessel based out of Lord Howe IslandRemember Fearless, the former Victoria Police boat famously involved in the pursuit of the drug-laden Korean cargo boat Pong Su? It is now heading to a new home on Lord Howe Island.
Relaunched today on the Hastings River, the patrol boat is now the largest vessel in the NSW marine rescue fleet after an extensive $650,000 refit and facelift to bring it back into service.
The 16.0-metre boat was believed to have made its way into the hands of a charter boat operator after it was decommissioned and auctioned off in 2018, but earlier this year found its way into the hands of Marine Rescue NSW.
It then travelled to Port Macquarie where Birdon Marine gave it a complete overhaul.
“With our fleet manager Kelvin Parkin and director of operations Andrew Cribb on board, the new-look LH 40 has today left the Birdon workshops, proudly wearing its new Marine Rescue NSW livery,” Marine Rescue NSW said.
“Work on the vessel has included gutting the interior, building a new wheelhouse console, renewing the flybridge console, installing a full suite of Raymarine electronics, a mechanical overhaul and removing, inspecting and aligning the shafts and propellers.
“It has now travelled to the Port Macquarie marina where it will be based in coming weeks during its comprehensive sea trials and preparations before heading to the island, 650km due east of the Mid North Coast.
Service history
Fearless, a bespoke vessel from Australian shipbuilder and defence contractor Austral, originally was commissioned for the NSW Police and delivered in 2000.
While still in the hands of NSW Police, Fearless was one of the vessels charged with chasing down the Pong Su, a North Korean cargo ship attempting to traffick almost 125kg of heroin into Australia.
After trying to flee to international waters, the Pong Su was eventually redirected to Sydney under Australian navy escort, confiscated and scuttled.
Fearless left NSW Police service and joined the VicPol fleet in 2006 where it formed the backbone of Bass Strait search and rescue operations.
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