FSS ''Independence'' is a Pacific-class patrol boat manufactured by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and delivered to the

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (, abbreviated FSM), or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Micronesia, a region of Oceania. The federation encompasses the majority of the Caroline Islands (excluding Palau) and consists of four Admin ...

under the Pacific Patrol Boat Program. It was superseded in January 2022 by

Guardian-class patrol boat The Guardian-class patrol boats are a class of small patrol vessels designed and built in Australia and provided to small South Pacific Ocean countries as part of the Australian Government's Pacific Maritime Security Program. The class is de ...

s under the

Pacific Maritime Security Program The Pacific Maritime Security Program is a program initiated by Australia to aid the neighbouring Pacific Island nations, such as Timor-Leste, Fiji, Palau, Kiribati and Tonga. The program includes the maintenance of port facilities, training, and ...

Overview

''Independence'' was transferred to Micronesia in March 1990. As a , it had a length of , a beam of , a draught of , and a

full load displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weig ...

of . It was decommissioned and returned to Australia on 12 January 2022 in exchange for the new s that Micronesia would receive. At the decommissioning ceremony, the president of Micronesia stated that the patrol boat along with its sister ship provided "the sovereign capability to conduct maritime surveillance and enforcement, as well as to assist our Nation with important missions ranging from Search & Rescue operations to disaster relief".

Service

In its 30 years of service from 1990 to 2022, the two patrol boats have seen service in a large variety of fields, including mitigating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. In addition, it has also participated in maritime rescue operations; for example, in August 2020 it cooperated with Australian and American forces to conduct a rescue of three people stranded on the deserted island of

Pikelot Pikelot Island is one of the outer islands of the Yap State, State of Yap, part of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is a low coral island, coral islet, with a wet, tropical climate. It is uninhabited. Since the 1970s, sailors have stranded ...

. In June 2010, the patrol boat had to be temporarily suspended from service for emergency repairs due to extensive corrosion. A total fund of $78,000 was allocated for the repairs, as any lapse in the patrolling capability was deemed to be crippling to government services. As with other PPBP recipients, due to cost issues the use of the patrol boat gradually decreased. The patrol boat, along with its sisters and FSS ''Micronesia'', consumed a total of 33% of Micronesia's operations budget in 1999. During the 2006–2012 period, median total days at sea decreased to 69 days, i.e. 11.5 days per year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Independence Pacific Forum class patrol vessels 1990 ships Patrol vessels of Micronesia