Samoa receives Guardian-class patrol boat from Australia

The Guardian-class patrol boat Nafanua II. Photo c/o Brian Scott / Marine Traffic.com.

The Australian government handed over a new Guardian-class patrol boat to the Samoan government during ceremonies held in Henderson, Western Australia on 16 August 2019.

The boat, built by Australian shipbuilder Austal, was named Nafanua II and was accepted by Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minster Fiame Naomi Nata’afa and Commissioner of Police Mr. Fuivaili’ili Egon Keil.

The decades-long commitment to maritime security is part of the Australian Government’s $2 billion Pacific Maritime Security Program. One component is the handover of the new vessels, with the first three being delivered to Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu and Tonga. Several other Pacific island countries will receive the same type of boats in the next few years.

The Guardian-class patrol boat has an overall length of 39.5 meters, a beam of 8 meters, powered by 2 Caterpillar 3516C diesel engines, and has a top speed of 20 knots. It has a crew of 23 men, and was designed to allow a naval gun of up to 30mm calibre, and for port and starboard side 12.7mm heavy machine guns.


[1] Australian Department of Defence