Australia Gifts $30M Vessel To Samoa
Samoa's marine security and ocean boundary will be monitored by the marine Wing's patrol boat by the end of the next year, according to the Samoa Police, Prisons and Corrections Services.
As part of Australia's defense cooperation under the Pacific Maritime Security Program, Samoa received the Nafanua II, a Guardian-class patrol boat, which was later written off due to a grounding event in 2021, with the Nafanua III set to take its place.
In an interview with Deputy Police Commissioner Papalii Monalisa Tiai-Keti, she stated that the handover of the vessel is anticipated to take place in Australia later this year, and added that it will arrive in the country in early 2024.
Additionally, a crew has already been chosen to travel to the other country in September for training to establish familiarity with the vessel's capabilities before sailing the ship back to Samoa.
The deputy commissioner further asserts that the reactivation of a patrol boat is crucial for maintaining maritime safety and guarding Samoa's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)'s ocean borders.
The fact that the vessel will be "the only patrol boat operated by Samoa and solely responsible for the enforcement of laws and sovereignty protection over maritime territories, collection of information and intelligence in the maritime domain" is particularly noteworthy.
Along with general policing support, Nafanua III will be in charge of main search and rescue response, medical evacuation calls, disaster relief, and the detection, monitoring, and response to fishing as well as the conservation of fishery resources.
According to Papali'i, the Nafanua III is currently stationed at the Austal Shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia, where it was built, and is valued at $30 million (SAT).
In a news conference with local media last week during his visit to Samoa, Australian Minister of International Development, the Pacific, and the Australia Defense Industry Pat Conroy stated that he had already visited the Henderson Shipyard to assess the warship.
The patrol boat's "world class capability" will also improve Samoa's marine industry's security and protection. Austal Limited, a leading defense prime contractor with an international shipbuilding facility in Australia, is the organization responsible for the design and construction of the Nafanua III.
Since 2017, it has designed and built over 260 vessels for various armed forces and commercial operators, including the Australian Border Force, Condor Ferries, the Royal Australian Navy, the United States Navy, and the Royal Navy of Oman. It specializes in the design, construction, and support of defense and commercial vessels. This is the same business that created and built Nafanua II.