RVS ''Takuare'' is a

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

in service with the

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

Police Maritime Wing. She was given to Vanuatu by Australia as part of the Australian government's ''Pacific Maritime Security Program'' on 30 July 2021. Her predecessor, the , was the second vessel of the first iteration of the ''Pacific Patrol Boat Program'', and served in the same role from 1987 to 2021. The ''Takuare'' is currently the only naval or law enforcement vessel operated by the

Pacific Island The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

nation.

Background

Following the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the

Pacific Islands The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

nations found themselves in need of capable yet economical vessels to patrol 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, extended by the convention to . In an effort to improve regional maritime security as well as diplomatic relations with the island states, the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

launched the Pacific Patrol Boat Program in 1983, in which they would build and gift 22

s to 12 Pacific Island nations over the next 14 years. The patrol boats were built with

commercial off-the-shelf Commercial-off-the-shelf or commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) products are packaged or canned (ready-made) hardware or software, which are adapted aftermarket to the needs of the purchasing organization, rather than the commissioning of ...

-components in order to ease maintenance costs for the island nations. Australia remained involved with maintaining the class for the next three decades, with a refit after 15 years of operation. was the second vessel of her class and the second Vanuatuan patrol boat. She was delivered to the Vanuatu Police Force in June 1987, and would serve for the next 34 years. She was severely damaged on 14 March 2015 when

Cyclone Pam Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam was the second List of the most intense tropical cyclones, most intense tropical cyclone of the South Pacific Ocean in terms of sustained winds and is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of ...

washed her ashore on Moso Island. She returned to service on 23 August 2016 after sixteen months of repairs courtesy of Australia. On 28 May 2021 Vanuatu officials held a small farewell ceremony marking the last departure of ''Tukoro'' from the Mala Base Wharf in

Port Vila Port Vila ( ; ), or simply Vila (), is the capital of Vanuatu and its largest city. It is on the island of Efate, in Shefa Province. The population was 49,034 as of the 2020 census. In 2020, the population of Port Vila formed 16.3% of the ...

, for her final voyage to Australia. The Australian government announced the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project on 17 June 2014. A contract for the construction of at least 19 boats and an initial 7-year maintenance and support period was signed with

Austal Austal Limited is an Australian-based global ship building company and defence prime contractor that specialises in the design, construction and support of defence and commercial vessels. Austal's product range includes naval vessels, High-spee ...

on 4 May 2016. The

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

of the first vessel was laid on 30 July 2017, before she was launched on 30 May 2018.

Design

The Guardian class uses a steel monohull design based on that of the , which had been in service with the

Australian Border Force The Australian Border Force (ABF) is a federal law enforcement agency, part of the Department of Home Affairs (Australia), Department of Home Affairs, responsible for offshore and onshore border control, border enforcement, investigations, comp ...

since 1999. The patrol boats are long with two habitable internal decks below the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

. They are capable of travelling at , and have a maximum speed of . They have two Caterpillar 3516C

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s powering two fixed-pitch propellers. A key design goal being ease of maintenance, the class uses commercial off-the-shelf components. In addition to the commanding officer's quarters, the boats have seven living quarters designed to berth 20 crew members. Three of them are staterooms that have their own showers in order to accommodate a

mixed-sex Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

crew. They also have a

sick bay A sick bay is a compartment in a ship, or a section of another organisation, such as a school or college, used for medical purposes. The sick bay contains the ship's medicine chest, which may be divided into separate cabinets, such as a refrige ...

with a separate ventilation system, which during normal operations is used as two berths, bringing the total complement up to 23. The vessels have a

stern launching ramp Some modern patrol vessels are equipped with a stern launching ramp, or simply launching ramp, for deploying smaller rescue or pursuit boats without requiring the parent ship to first come to a halt. Typically the smaller craft are powered b ...

for a WRH635 fast rescue boat. These are SOLAS-certified

rigid-hulled inflatable boat A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull (watercraft), hull bottom joined to side-forming a ...

s designed to carry up to 15 people. They are long, with two Yamaha

outboard motors An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

and an operational weight of . The stern is also equipped with a port side crane serving a cargo deck. Australia instructed that the boats would be delivered without armament, but they were designed to be capable of mounting an

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...

of up to on their foredeck, and a 0.50-calibre machine gun both port and starboard in front of the bridge. In June 2022, three design flaws were reported in the media. This included cracking in the coupling between the engine and the gear box, the sick bay ventilation system recirculating air and an exhaust leak causing

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...

to enter the normally non-crewed engine compartment.

Naming contest

On 16 October 2020 the Vanuatu Police Force announced a week-long naming contest for their new patrol ship. They received seven submissions from the public, along with explanations of their meanings. A three-member panel met on 28 October and recommended the submission made by the commanding officer of ''Tukoro'', Chief Inspector Kalsaf Treson Alick, which was then approved by the Acting Commissioner of Police. Captain Alick would not live to see ''Takuare'' delivered. The

prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Particularly in the study of languages, a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the word to which it is affixed. Prefixes, like other affixes, can b ...

RVS stands for "Republic of Vanuatu Ship", and the

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

03 signifies that ''Takuare'' is the third patrol boat that Vanuatu has operated. The name translates both to "tribal warrior" and "stand up and unite". The etymology behind the name ''Takuare'' stems from traditional custom governance systems of the

Shefa Province Shefa is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the center of the country and including the islands of Epi (island), Epi and Efate and the Shepherd Islands. The province's name is derived from the initial letters of SHepherd and EFAte. It ...

islands (the Shepherds group and Efate islands). It is a warrior role undertaken by people of high standing, historically serving as guardians against invaders on land or by sea. It can also be more of a traditional Police role, enforcing the

Nakamal A ''nakamal'' is a traditional meeting place in Vanuatu. It is used for gatherings, ceremonies and the drinking of kava. A nakamal is found in every significant Vanuatu community, but the design of the nakamal and the traditions surrounding it ...

's rules and laws of the land and sea. And it can also be a role similar to that of a

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

for orders issued by the chief of a Nakamal. The official naming ceremony was held in Vanuatu on 24 September 2021.

Delivery

In preparation for operating the larger Guardian-class boat, the Australian government funded a project that would demolish and rebuild the home port of the Maritime Wing, the Mala Base Wharf in Port Vila. ''Tukoro'' left Vanuatu on 28 May 2021, headed for Australia on her last voyage, with her crew scheduled to return on board ''Takuare'' in September. The 12th Guardian-class boat was built in 11 weeks at Austal's ship yard in the Australian Marine Complex in

Henderson, Western Australia Henderson is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Cockburn. History The suburb of Henderson, along with the suburb of Naval Base to its south, comprises land resumed by the Commonwealth Government in 1915 for defence ...

, and was handed over to Vanuatu in a certificate signing ceremony held on Vanuatu's Independence Day, 30 July 2021. The ceremony was attended virtually by some individuals due to

COVID-19 travel restrictions During the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and territories imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other travel restrictions for citizens of or recent travelers to the most affected areas. Some countries and territories impo ...

. In attendance were, among others, the Vanuatu High Commissioner to Australia Mr. Samson Vilvil Farray, the Australian

Minister for Defence Industry In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Defence Industry is currently the Hon Pat Conroy MP since 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022. The Minister for Defence Industry, or previously the Minister of Suppl ...

Melissa Price, the

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of ''Takuare'', Chief Inspector Dicky Obed of the Vanuatu Police Maritime Wing and the rest of ''Takuare'' new crew. Due to local criticism concerning a lack of ceremony surrounding the decommissioning of ''Tukoro'', Vanuatu authorities decided to hold several custom ceremonies, welcoming their new patrol boat, leading up to her arrival on 28 September 2021. She was then received by a large crowd at Port Vila on 30 September 2021.

Operational history

From 25 October to 5 November 2021 ''Takuare'' spotted four and fined two unlicensed fishing vessels as part of

Operation Kurukuru Operation Kurukuru is an annual maritime surveillance operation conducted by Pacific Island countries to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. It attempts to combat this within the exclusive economic zone of members of the Pacific Is ...

. In April 2022 she was unable to partake in a joint operation with 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 ...

as she was on standby for a vaccination rollout. In the second week of June 2022, the ''Takuare'' docked indefinitely at SinoVan wharf in Port Vila due an engine exhaust problem. Black smoke containing (toxic)

was leaking into the engine room, causing her commander to pull her out of service pending repairs. The issue caused Australia to issue an advisory to all operators of the vessel. Austal reportedly "accepted that the problems are latent defects that it will work to resolve." She was sent to the Austal maintenance facility in

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

for a week of repairs, and returned to Vanuatu by 30 July. In October 2022 she was unable to fulfill her normal duties of transporting ballot boxes to remote islands, as there was a new problem with the

hydrogen sulphide Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is toxic, corrosive, and flammable. Trace amounts in ambient atmosphere have a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. Swedish chemist Ca ...

aboard the vessel producing toxic gas. The Police Force were expecting to receive specialists from Austal later in the month to assess and rectify the issue. Australia provided assistance with an aircraft and two helicopters to transport the ballot boxes.

Sports competitions

Both the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) and RVS ''Takuare'' muster men's teams to compete in local tournaments under the

Asia-Pacific Rugby League The Asia-Pacific Rugby League (APRL) (previously Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation (APRLC)) is an Umbrella organization, umbrella body for nations playing the sport of rugby league football in Oceania, East Asia, East and South East Asia, ...

. The VPF also musters a women's team. All teams competed in the ''Icon Reeves Luganville Nines Championships'' held at Santo East High School in

Luganville Luganville is the second largest city in Vanuatu after the capital Port Vila; it is located on the island of Espiritu Santo and has a population of 18,062 as of the 2020 census. Those on Vanuatu's northern islands who regard Luganville as their ...

on 1 and 2 October 2022. The championship had been won by the men's VPF-team in 2021, and was won by the ''Takuare''-team and the women's VPF-team in 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takuare Patrol vessels of Vanuatu Guardian class patrol vessels 2021 ships