Solomon Islands receive 2nd Guardian-class patrol boat from Australia

 

The 2nd Guardian-class patrol boat for the Solomon Islands, the RSIPV Taro (06). Photo c/o Austal.


The Australian Department of Defence (DOD) has gifted a second Guardian-class patrol boat to the Solomon Islands Government.

The new patrol boat, named the RSIPV Taro (06), was received by the Solomon Islands High Commissioner to Australia Mr. Robert Sisilo, and attended by Australian Parliament Member Mr. Vince Connelly, and Rear Admiral Katherine Richards, Head of Navy Engineering of the Royal Australian Navy.

The transfer of the patrol boat are among the commitments under Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project, as part of Australian Government’s Pacific Maritime Security Program involving several Pacific island nations.

The RSIPV Taro is the 10th Guardian-class patrol boat delivered by Australian shipbuilder Austal, and will be operated by the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF).

A sistership, the RSIVP Gizo (05), was delivered to the RSIPF on November 2019.

The boat was named after Taro Island, the capital of Choiseul Province in northwest of the Solomon Islands archipelago.

Austal confirmed that they are on track to deliver all 21 Guardian-class patrol boats by the end of 2023, which is part of contract worth A$335 million (US$263 million) awarded in April 2018.

Aside from the Solomon Islands, 11 other nations are to receive similar boats from the Australian Government through to 2023, including Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Micronesia, Tonga, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Timor Leste.

The Guardian-class are steel-hulled monohull patrol boats that made extensive use of commercial off the shelf parts for easy maintenance. They have a length of 39.5 meters, a beam of 8 meters, and draft of 2.5 meters.

The boats are powered by two Caterpillar 3516C diesel engines allowing a speed of more than 20 knots, and a range of 3,000 nautical miles at 12 knots.





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Austal


Solomon Islands receive 2nd Guardian-class patrol boat from Australia Solomon Islands receive 2nd Guardian-class patrol boat from Australia Reviewed by Asia Pacific Defense Journal on May 12, 2021 Rating: 5

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