Looney Tunes character Wile E Coyote). Operational history Townsville, like all the Fremantle-class vessels, was primarily assigned to fisheries protection and border patrol operations in northern Australian waters. Tasks included boarding and inspection of ships operating in Australian waters, preventing unauthorised arrivals and illegal fishing, intercepting smugglers, and acting in support of Customs and law enforcement operations. Additionally, during the construction of the Fremantle class, Townsville was the designated buddy ship for vessels completing sea trials and initial working up. On 25 December 1981, Townsville was called on to pursue the Taiwanese fishing vessel Yuan Tsun. The ship, which had been detained in Trinity Inlet after being caught illegally fishing in Australian waters, took the opportunity to escape while most military and law-enforcement personnel were on leave for the Christmas holiday. Townsville maintained pursuit of Yuan Tusn as the ship attempted to escape the Great Barrier Reef, fired several warning shots, and received approval from the Defence Minister to fire directly on the ship before the captain surrendered. During 1982, Townsville was one of several Fremantles used to depict the fictional HMAS Defiance for filming of the second season of the ABC television series Patrol Boat. Townsville was involved in Exercise Kangaroo 83. In late May 1987, Townsville was deployed to Fiji as part of Operation Morris Dance, as relief for one of the patrol boats sent following the initial coup d'état earlier that month. The Australian government decided on 29 May that the situation had stabilised, with Townsville sailing for home that day. On 1 June 1990, the patrol boat intercepted a vessel carrying Cambodian refugees off Bathurst Island. The vessel began sinking while the boarding and inspection was underway, with the personnel of Townsville rescuing 45 men, 17 women, and 17 children, and transporting them to Darwin. The following month, the patrol boat was in Nuku'Alofa for celebrations of the King of Tonga's birthday. In January 1992, Townsville was used as the platform from which a team of clearance divers disposed of undetonated bombs found on Middleton Reef. In July 1993, Townsville was used for water flow and cavitation experiments on the vessel's propellers. Two windows were inserted into the ship's hull above the propellers to allow filming of these effects. During February 1994, Townsville visited several Papua New Guinean ports while conducting patrol operations in the Coral Sea. In August 1995, Townsville participated in celebrations of the