Samoan patrol vessel Nafanua II

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Nafanua2-side.jpg

Nafanua II (04) is a Guardian class patrol vessel being built in Australia for Samoa.[1][2] It will replace the original Western Samoan patrol vessel Nafanua, supplied to Samoa three decades earlier. Her crew will be drawn from the Samoan Police Force.[3]

Australia supplied 22 Pacific Forum patrol vessels to 12 of its smaller Pacific Forum allies when the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea established that maritime nations controlled an economic exclusion zone 200 km off their coasts.

Design

Australia designed the vessels to use commercial off the shelf components, rather than cutting edge military grade components, to make it easier to maintain the vessels in small, isolated shipyards. The vessels will have a maximum speed of 20 knots, and to have a complement of approximately 20 crewmembers. They will be able to launch and retrieve a pursuit boat from a stern launching ramp without requiring bringing the vessel to a halt.

On April 2, 2019, Police Commissioner Fuiavailili Egon Keil hinted that keeping her crew safe might require installing a deck gun.[4] Australia designed the vessels to be capable of mounting secondary machine guns, and a primary weapon of up to 30 mm in caliber. Australia delivers the vessels complete, except for armament, and the original Nafanua and her sister ships were armed only with small arms.

Nafanua II will be the first Samoan patrol vessel with a mixed gender crew.[5]

Operational history

Manufacturer Austal handed Nafanua II over to Samoan representatives at its plant in Henderson, Western Australia, on August 16, 2019.[3][6][7] Present at the handover ceremony, representing Samoa, were Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, and Fuivaili’ili Egon Keil, Samoa's Deputy Prime Minister and Commissioner of Police. Representing Australia were Linda Reynolds and Melissa Price, Minister for Defence and Minister for Defence Industry.[8]

Samoa agreed that Nafanua II would cooperate under the Niue Treaty Subsidiary Agreement to conduct fishery surveillance as it transitted Australian waters, on its first voyage to Samoa, even though she had yet to be officially commissioned.[7]

The Nafanua II arrived in Apia on October 4, 2019.[9]

On August 6, 2021, the Nafanua II ran aground on the Salelologa reef.[10]

By mid September an Australian salvage team had arrived, and had removed the vessel from the reef, lashed it to a barge, and had begun towing it to an Australian shipyard for a damage assessment.[11]

Agafili Shem Leo, a Samoan cabinet official, told the press an inquiry was determining how the vessel came to run aground.[11]


[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

References

  1. ↑ Sapeer Mayron. Maritime police get $113,535 boost, Samoan Observer, 2018-08-15. Retrieved on 2018-08-18. “The change rooms are a necessary addition because in August 2019, the wing will receive an Australian government-funded Guardian Class Patrol Boat, which will be used by both male and female police.”
  2. ↑ Adel Fruean. New patrol boat to boost maritime security, Samoan Observer, 2019-01-28. Retrieved on 2019-02-05. “Under the Pacific Maritime Security Programme, Samoa will this year receive the Nafanua II – a bigger, more capable patrol boat – to enhance Samoa’s capacity to secure its ocean resources and maritime domain.”
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ridzwan Rahmat. Australia hands over Guardian-class patrol vessel to Samoa, Jane's Navy International, 2019-08-16. Retrieved on 2019-08-16. “Nafanua II will be operated by the Police Maritime Wing of the Samoan Police Service. The vessel is part of the Australian government’s Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement (SEA 3036) programme, which will see the donation of 21 new patrol vessels to 12 Pacific Island countries, and Timor-Leste.”
  4. ↑ Samoa police patrol boat may be armed, Radio New Zealand, 2019-04-02. Retrieved on 2019-04-02. “The service will take delivery of a new state-of-the-art patrol boat, Nafanua II, in September and the Police Commissioner Fuiavailili Egon Keil wants to keep an eye on how the future shapes up with their surveillance work.”
  5. ↑ Samoa Police farewell 30-year-old patrol boat from Australia, Radio New Zealand, 2019-06-13. Retrieved on 2019-08-16. “The new patrol boat, Nafanua II, will for the first time include three women sailors.”
  6. ↑ Samoa receives Guardian-class Patrol Boat, Mirage News, 2019-08-16. Retrieved on 2019-08-16. “The Australian Government has today handed over the newest Guardian-class Patrol Boat Nafanua II to the Samoan Government at a ceremony in Henderson, Western Australia. Nafanua II was received by Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister the Honourable Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and the Commissioner of Police Mr Fuivaili’ili Egon Keil.”
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Samoa Receives Guardian Class Patrol Boat Nafanua II, Samoa Global News, 2019-08-17. Retrieved on 2019-08-17. “The Government of Australia handed over the newest Guardian-class Patrol Boat Nafanua II to the Samoan Government at a ceremony in Henderson, Western Australia yesterday.”
  8. ↑ Australia hands over Guardian-class patrol boat to Samoa, Naval Technology, 2019-08-16. Retrieved on 2022-03-04. “The delivery is part of the Pacific Patrol Boat replacement component of the A$2bn ($1.35bn) Pacific Maritime Security Program, which is designed to enhance maritime security cooperation across the South Pacific.”
  9. ↑ New patrol boat arrives in Samoa, Radio New Zealand, 2019-10-07. Retrieved on 2019-10-07. “The $US30 million guardian class boat arrived at Matautu wharf on Friday.”
  10. ↑ Matai'a Lanuola Tusani T - Ah Tong. Nafanua II runs aground in Savai'i waters, Samoa Observer, 2021-08-05.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Marc Membrere. Nafanua II leaves for Australia, Samoa Observer, 2021-09-21. Retrieved on 2022-03-04. “Last week, the Nafanua II patrol boat had been successfully salvaged and towed away from the Salelologa reef after being stranded on the outskirts of Savaii for just over a month.”
  12. ↑ Matai'a Lanuola Tusani T - Ah Tong. Nafanua skipper hit with five charges, Samoa Observer, 2021-09-03.
  13. ↑ Matai'a Lanuola Tusani T - Ah Tong. Nafanua II salvage success, Samoa Observer, 2021-09-15. “Superintendent Taito Sefo Hunt was suspended last week following the incident that destroyed or severely damaged the $30 million patrol boat that was only donated from Australia in 2019.”
  14. ↑ Matai'a Lanuola Tusani T - Ah Tong. Hearing into Nafanua II incident begins, Samoa Observer, 2021-11-04.
  15. ↑ Matai'a Lanuola Tusani T - Ah Tong. Nafanua II captain found guilty of negligence, Samoa Observer, 2021-12-21.
  16. ↑ Matai'a Lanuola Tusani T - Ah Tong. Nafanua II captain fined, demoted, Samoa Observer, 2022-01-07.
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