Samoa’s Australian funded patrol vessel the Nafanua II docked at Matautu wharf yesterday. The $ST30 million guardian class boat was crewed by 21 Samoa maritime officers who had sailed to Australia in the old Nafanua earlier this year and underwent four months of intensive training to familiarize themselves with the new vessel.
Police Commissioner Fuiavailili Egon Keil said the commissioning ceremony will be held later this month after Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele returned from Japan .
The Commissioner said the Nafanua II will complement Samoa’s existing aerial surveillance of its maritime zone with an aircraft stationed at Faleolo.
He said the aircraft conducted surveillance looking for vessels fishing illegally in Samoa’a EEZ , that could be transporting transitional organized crime like human trafficking, and drugs.
He said no detections were made in the absence of the Nafanua I which had been in use for over 30 years.
The new boat was gifted to Samoa through its Pacific Patrol Program, under which Australia built and donated patrol vessels to Pacific countries to the value of $AUS2 billion.
Photo: Samoa Observer
