RFNS Savenaca

RFNS Savenaca (401) is a Guardian-class patrol boat, being built in Australia for Fiji's Navy.[1] She will replace RFNS Kula, a Pacific Forum patrol vessel provided by Australia in 1994. She will be the seventh vessel of the class to be completed, and the second of two to be delivered to Fiji. She will be commissioned in March or April of 2020.

Sister ship RSIPV Gizo in the Austal shipyards in Henderson, Western Australia.
History
Fiji
Name: Savenaca
Namesake: Savenaca Naulutuma
Builder: Austal
General characteristics
Class and type: Guardian-class patrol boat
Length: 39.5 m (129 ft 7 in)
Beam: 8 m (26 ft 3 in)
Draft: 0.76 m (2.5 ft)
Propulsion: 2 × Caterpillar 3516C diesel engines, 2 shafts
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range: 3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Armament: Australia provides the ships without armament, but they are designed to be able to mount heavy machine guns, or an autocannon of up to 30 mm on the foredeck

Design

Australia provided 22 Pacific Forum patrol vessels to its smaller neighbours in the Pacific Forum after the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provided maritime nations with 200-kilometre (120 mi) exclusive economic zone.[2][3][4] Those vessels were delivered in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and were designed for a service life of approximately 30 years. Australia designed the Guardian class as a slightly larger and more capable replacement.

Like the Pacific Forum vessels the Guardian-class vessels are built using commercial off the shelf components, to make it easier for the vessels to be maintained in small, isolated shipyards.[5]

Operational career

Savenaca was turned over to the Royal Fiji Naval Service, at Austal's Henderson factory, on March 6, 2020.[6] Attending the handover ceremony were Voreqe Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji, Inia Seruiratu, Minister of Defence, Melissa Price, Minister for Defence Industry, and Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto and Captain Humphrey Tawake, of the Fiji Navy.[7][8]

Savenaca arrived in Walu Bay on April 28, 2020, where she was greeted by Minister of Defence Inia Seruiratu.[9]

In May, 2020, Savenaca was dispatched with humanitarian aid to areas stricken with the Covid 19 virus.[10] Australia had helped by flying in supplies, including a large portable generator.

Namesake

The vessel is named after Savenaca Naulumatua, a Fiji sailor who died serving aboard HMNZS Leander, during the Battle of Kolombangara.[11][12]

References
  1. Sainiani Boila (2019-12-22). "Navy decommissions RFNS Kula". Fiji Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2019-12-22. The Fiji Navy says the RFNS will be scrapped and will be replaced by a larger and more capable Guardian Class Patrol boat RFNS Savenaca.
  2. "Austal Pacific Patrol Boat 40" (PDF). Austal. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2018-01-21. Austal will design, construct and deliver the 19 steel-hulled patrol boats (valued at $280 million) to 12 Pacific Island nations. The contract includes an option for two additional vessels.
  3. "Australia's Defence Engagement in the Pacific: 2016 Defence White Paper". Australian Navy. 2016. Archived from the original on 2018-01-22. Retrieved 2018-04-22. The Pacific Patrol Boats are gifted by Australia as sovereign assets, and have enabled Pacific Island countries to take an active role in securing their own borders and resources – to the benefit of the region overall. The PPBs are used to undertake a wide range of tasks, from fisheries enforcement, to Search and rescue, to movement of ballot boxes.
  4. "Timor Leste's future Patrol Boats". Monch Publishing Group. 2018-04-19. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2018-04-22. The PICS will receive their new patrol boats as follows: Cook Islands (1 vessel); Federated States of Micronesia (2 vessels); Fiji (2 vessels); Kiribati (1 vessel); Palau (1 vessel); Papua New Guinea (4 vessels); Republic of the Marshall Islands (1 vessel); Samoa (1 vessel); Solomon Islands (2 vessels); Timor Leste (2 vessels); Tonga (2 vessels); Tuvalu (1 vessel); Vanuatu (1 vessel).
  5. Maggie Boyle (2019-01-28). "Australian assistance to boost Navy fleet: Captain Tawake". Fiji Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2019-01-30. Navy Chief, Captain Humphrey Tawake says, the two vessels designated for Fiji will arrive next year.
  6. "Australia gifts Guardian-class patrol vessel to Fiji". Shephard Media. 2020-03-06. Retrieved 2020-03-07. Austal CEO David Singleton said: ‘the Pacific Boat Replacement Project [PPB-R] has really hit its stride, with this sixth Guardian-class Patrol Boat benefiting from a number of innovative production processes that have reduced production time, while maintaining quality.’
  7. Rosi Doviverata (2020-03-07). "PM, Delegation Receive Our New Navy Vessel". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 2020-03-07. Mr Bainimarama said the new vessel could not enter the ranks of Fiji's Navy at a more pressing time. "International criminal networks are hitting the Pacific hard -- particularly with the drug trade."
  8. Lisa Simcock (2020-03-06). "Austal (ASX:ASB) delivers 6th guardian-class patrol boat to Fiji Navy". The Market Herald. Retrieved 2020-03-07. Chief Executive David Singleton said the first Guardian-class Patrol Boat delivery for 2020 showed it is keeping with its goal of delivering a new naval vessel every 3 months.
  9. Ritika Pratap (2020-04-29). "New vessel to assist border security". Fiji Broadcasting News. Retrieved 2020-04-29. Fiji has a vast ocean space and maritime security is a vital component of our national security priorities says Defence Minister Inia Seruiratu. However, Seruiratu says if left alone, our ability to effectively police and secure the immense sea space is limited. This was highlighted by the Minister while welcoming the new naval vessel RFNS Savenaca at the Naval base in Walu Bay yesterday.
  10. Dylan Nicholson (2020-05-28). "RAAF Hercules delivers the goods for Fijian patrol boat". Defence Connect. Retrieved 2020-05-30. The No. 37 Squadron Hercules delivered a shore-side generator and operating supplies in early May to help prepare the patrol boat RFNS Savenaca for additional tasks resulting from COVID-19.
  11. "Fiji's future Guardian-class patrol boat to honour fallen sailor". Baird Maritime. 2019-10-25. Retrieved 2019-10-26. The vessel honours Seaman Savenaca Naulutuma, a Fiji-born Royal New Zealand Navy sailor who was killed in action while serving aboard the cruiser HMNZS Leander at the Battle of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands in World War II. Naulutuma and 25 other crewmembers on Leander were killed shortly after their ship was struck by a Japanese torpedo in the early morning hours of July 13, 1943.
  12. Maika Bolatiki (2019-07-06). "RFNS Volasiga To Arrive In October And RFNS Savenaca In April 2020, Women To Make Up 16% Of Fiji Navy Personnel". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 2019-10-26. Savenaca Naulumatua from Yasawa and Timo Puamau from Lau were members of Fiji Naval Volunteer Force and during World War II they were part of the HMSNZF {sic} Leander's crew that was hit by a Japanese torpedo at the Battle of Kolombangara in July 1943.
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