50th anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific theatre. From 24 to 28 May 1999, the patrol boat operated off Thursday Island as part of a sweep for illegal activity. Decommissioning and fate In 2007, Townsville was marked for disposal. On 23 April, the Australian Government announced Townsville had been donated to the Townsville Maritime Museum as a museum ship, along with $200,000 in funding to build a dry dock for display. Another $100,000 was promised by Townsville City Council. The patrol boat was decommissioned at HMAS Cairns on 11 May 2007, in a joint ceremony with . The two patrol boats were the last of the class in active service. The vessel is fully operational (minus weaponry), and the museum intended to keep Townsville in a sailable condition, with maintenance undertaken by volunteers. In addition to being opened for public display, the Townsville Maritime Museum has also been contacted by cadet groups and emergency response organisations wanting to use the vessel for training. While waiting for approval to construct the dry dock adjacent to the museum site, Townsville was berthed at the Curtain Bros. wharf in Ross Creek. As of January 2012, construction of the dry dock was scheduled to begin in mid-2012, pending council approval of building plans and the securing of additional funding. By March 2015, approval for the dock had not been granted: the museum blamed the delays on the Port of Townsville and other government authorities for not supporting the project and delaying approvals for a seabed site lease, while the Port of Townsville claimed that the museum had not put forward a viable business plan. In the interim, the condition of the patrol boat has deteriorated, with the museum unable to fund maintenance. There are concerns over the condition of Townsvilles hull, both from marine growth and from the lack of recent care resulting in the patrol boat resting on the rocky bottom at low tide. Following meetings between the museum, the port authority, the council, and the regional development and tourism organisation, the Port of Townsville offered to take over the museum. Citations References The chapter is available separately as Semaphore, Issue 17, 2005 in PDF and HTML formats. Fremantle-class patrol boats Museum ships in Australia Ships built in Queensland HMAS 1981 ships