Vanuatu receives Australian-funded landing craft

 

The RVS Sokomanu. Photo c/o Auatralian High Commission in Vanuatu.

The Vanuatu Police Maritime Wing (PMW) has received a landing craft that was paid for by the Australian Government as part of its Defence Cooperation Program.

The landing craft, which was built in 2017 by a Malaysian shipbuilder, was acquired by the Australian Government from French company Peschaud International for A$7.18 million and will be named RVS Sokomanu after Vanuatu’s first president Ati George Sokomanu, who served between 1984 and 1989.

The new landing craft would enable the Vanuatu PMW to conduct sea transport operations, including provided support for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, 

The ship is expected to sail from Singapore to Vanuatu with a composite crew of Vanuatu PMW personnel and civilian Filipino sailors, and is expected to arrive at Port Vila on 26 June 2024.

According to a report by the Australian Defence Magazine, Vanuatu Police personnel have been training with the ship since March 2023,  initially by embedding a Vanuatu PMW officer with the landing craft team of the Royal Australian Navy’s amphibious assault ship HMAS Canberra.

Australia also provided training for the ship’s future crew members, with schooling also provided in Vanuatu but paid for by Australia.

The ship is 47 meters long, with a beam of 10.9 meters and a draft of 3.2 meters, with a maximum cargo capacity of 450 tonnes and is equipped with a 30-tonne deck crane. The ship is the largest ever operated by the Vanuatu PMW.

[1] Australian Defence Magazine

[2] Australian High Commission, Vanuatu