Seahorse Mercator
Seahorse Mercator is a navigational training vessel operated by Defence Maritime Services under contract to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She is a modified version of the Pacific class patrol boat design and is based at in Sydney. Design and construction. "Seahorse Mercator" is a variant of the Pacific class patrol boat design. The ship has a displacement of 165 tons, a length of , a beam of , and a draught of . Propulsion is supplied by two Caterpillar 3304 diesels, driving two propellers. Maximum speed is , with a range of at . "Seahorse Mercator" is run by a crew of  five plus three instructors, and can carry up to eighteen trainees. Radars include a Furuno FE 606 navigation radar, and a Decca Bridgemaster ARPA navigation radar. The vessel is unarmed. "Seahorse Mercator" was built by Tenix Ship Building Western Australia for DMS at a cost of A$4 million. The vessel was launched on 15 October 1998. The Canadian Forces Maritime Command's "Orca" class patrol vessels were built to a modified variant of "Seahorse Mercator"s design. Operational history. "Seahorse Mercator" conducted sea trials during November 1998, with handover to DMS and the RAN on 26 November 1998 She was  assigned to the naval base , and replaced the "Attack" class patrol boat as the RAN's Sydney-based navigational training vessel in December that year. Since then she has mainly operated in the Sydney area and has trained RAN personnel and sailors from other navies in coastal navigation, ship handling and watch keeping procedures. "Seahorse Mercator" has a secondary role as a mine countermeasures craft.