Vanuatu receives its Guardian-class patrol boat from Australia

  

The RVS Takuare (03), a Guardian-class patrol boat built for the Vanuatu Police's Maritime Wing. Photo c/o Austal.

The Australian Department of Defence (DOD) has handed-over a Guardian-class patrol boat to the Vanuatu Government, given as donation by the Australian Government.

The new patrol boat, named the RVS Takuare (03), was received by the Vanuatu High Commissioner to Australia Mr. Samson Fare, and attended by Australian officials led by Defense Industry Minister Melissa Price.

Australian and Vanuatu high officials were also following the ceremonies online.

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 RVS Takuare is the 12th Guardian-class patrol boat delivered by Australian shipbuilder Austal, and will be operated by the Vanuatu Police's Maritime Wing, and will replace the older Pacific-class patrol boat RVS Tukoro.

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 Vanuatu, 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, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, 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.

[1] Australian Department of Defence
[2] Naval Technology