Victoria's anti-terrorism, port security vessel VP01 Fearless will be decommissioned along with 10 others as part of a $7.2 million water police vessel overhaul.
Victoria Police's 35-strong boat fleet will see 11 vessels replaced over three years with new, state-of-the-art crafts.
The new boats will take to the water from July and range from 6.3 metres to 18 metres and be built in Victoria, Western Australia and New Zealand.
They will be equipped with sonar, forward-looking infra-red cameras, night vision and updated navigation systems.
"It's the first time we've adopted a strategic approach for the whole of the fleet," Water Police Inspector Mark Arneil told reporters on Monday.
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Insp Arneil said the new boats would better suit all of Victoria's waterways, giving police better patrolling and safety capabilities.
The vessel to replace Fearless is expected to reach up to 200 nautical miles offshore "that will certainly see us well out of Victoria's territorial waters and down into the area shared with Tasmania," Insp Arneil said.
VP01 Fearless was bought in 2006 and was involved in the successful rescue of three crew members from the George Bass Expedition in 2012.
The old boats will be either sold at auction or refurbished and used for volunteer marine search and rescue.
