12m XLW Class Patrol Boat Bunbee Delivered to Qld Marine Parks

Fri 12 Dec 2025

Last month, we delivered our 5th vessel in 5 years for the Queensland Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation’s (DETSI’s) Marine Parks – the 12m XLW Class Patrol Vessel Bunbee.

What has been remarkable is how diverse each of these custom vessels have been – from the 12m high performance composite monohull of Bunbee, to the imposing 24m offshore aluminium catamaran patrol of Reef Resilience. (Even more remarkable is how we survived and delivered all this to budget (and mostly schedule) through the crazy turmoil and price escalation of peak Covid and its aftermath!).

Consistent between all boats however, has been a total alignment and commitment between Marine Parks and Wrights to deliver the highest quality workboats in Australia – each boat we feel lifting that bar a little higher.

We are extremely proud of each of these vessels and greatly value the opportunity we have had to work with a highly demanding engaged client (😉). Just as satisfying has been experiencing the enthusiasm of each of the individual crews and to see how well these vessels are operated and cared for.

Bunbee

Bunbee is our latest 12m XLW Class Patrol and is now stationed in Urangan, Hervey Bay. Named by the Butchulla people, the Traditional Custodians of K’gari (formerly Fraser Island), Bunbee means water vessel in their traditional language. Bunbee will patrol the waters of the Great Sandy Marine Park stretching from Baffle Creek in the north to Double Island Point in the south.

The Bunbee project required NRW to design and build a vessel capable of delivering a multitude of client operational scenarios, including patrol operations, multi-day compliance missions, diver operations and long-range pursuit operations, with a complex fitout and tailored equipment list to meet these requirements.

The vessel is powered by Volvo Penta Diesel IPS drives and selected based on the great feedback from our NSW 12m XLW Patrol vessels which are proving to be highly reliable and delivering fantastic functionality and economy.

On that note, Bunbee is faster and more fuel efficient than the vessel it is replacing, meaning the rangers can spend more time protecting the Great Sandy Marine Park and island protected areas. The old 12m catamaran vessel that Bunbee replaced cruised at 17kn for 100 litres/hr. Bunbee does 24 knots at 83 litres/hr. That’s 29% faster and still 17% more fuel efficient. For the same fuel burn the old vessel uses, Bunbee can cruise 10 knots faster!

Key features are as follows: