HMPNGS ''Seeadler'' (P03) is one of four Pacific Forum patrol vessels operated by the Papua New-Guinea Defence Force.

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 ...

designed and delivered twenty-two Pacific Forum vessels to twelve of her maritime neighbours, between 1987 and 1997. Australia provided these vessels to Papua New-Guinea, and eleven other of its

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

neighbours so they could police their

exclusive economic zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

s, because that improves its own security. The

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

regularly participates in joint exercises with their Papuan New-Guinea opposite numbers. The duties of ''Seeadler'', and her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s, include fishery patrol. In 2013 ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'' described Papua New Guinea's fleet of Pacific Forum vessels as "a neglected component of the PNGDF"—one rarely visited by Australian liaison officers. In 2014 James Movick, Director-General of the Forum Fisheries Agency, noted that five of the six boarding operations executed by ''Seeadler'' during the 2014 iteration of Operation Kurukuru, found potential infringements of the Pacific Forum's fisheries agreements. He called ''Seeadler''s performance "outstanding". In 2014 '' EMTV'' reported that vessels like ''Seeadler'' were rarely able to put to sea, due to shortages of fuel, and maintenance issues. ''Seeadler'' crew members described her as too small for high seas. On 23 December 2016 ''Seeadler'' was on a joint operation with elements of the Australian Maritime Border Command when she fired upon a

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

ese fishing vessel that had been poaching

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class (biology), class Holothuroidea ( ). They are benthic marine animals found on the sea floor worldwide, and the number of known holothuroid species worldwide is about 1,786, with the greatest number be ...

s. According to ''The National'' ''Seeadler'' fired "explosive bullets" at one of three poaching vessels, which then exploded, killing her

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, sinking the vessel, and inflicting serious burns on other crew members. The incident took place near

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range (Papu ...

. Papua New Guinea is scheduled to start replacing her Pacific Forum ships, with larger and more capable Guardian-class patrol boats, starting in late 2018. On 18 April 2021 Papua New-Guinea Defence Force decommissioned its last three ships of the class, including ''Seeadler''.

Sister ships

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeadler (P03) Pacific Forum class patrol vessels Patrol vessels of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force 1988 ships