VOEA ''Savea'' (P203) was a
Pacific Forum patrol vessel operated by the
Tongan Maritime Force
The Tongan Maritime Force is the naval arm of His Majesty's Armed Forces of Tonga.
History
The Tongan Maritime Force was founded on 10 March 1973 by King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV (Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Tupoulahi; 4 July ...
from 1989 to April 2019.
[
''Savea'' was replaced in June 2019 by , which was designed and built for the Tonga Maritime Force 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 ...
.[
]
Background
When the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international treaty that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 169 sov ...
extended maritime nations' 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 ...
(EEZ) to , Australia designed and built 22 patrol vessel
A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they ...
s for 12 of its fellow members of the Pacific Forum.[ Australia provided the patrol vessel free of charge, and helped build port facilities and provide training. This allowed its neighbour to exercise sovereignty over their EEZ, intercept smugglers, and poaching fishers, and provide emergency services.
Australia replaced ''Savea'' and her two ]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 with two slightly larger and more capable vessels between 2019 and 2020.[
]
Design
The vessels displace 162 tonnes, and are built using 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 ...
(COTS) equipment, instead of more expensive, high-performance, military-grade equipment, to ease the maintenance burden, since local maintenance will be performed in small, isolated shipyards.[
][
]
Operational history
In 1999 ''Savea'' carried scientists from the Ministry of Land, Survey, and Natural Resources to study a volcano that emerged from the ocean in early January 1999.[ A newly emerged volcanic island was observed from the air on January 8, 1999 northwest of Tongatapu Island. When first observed the island was approximately long, with a cinder cone. The cone was visibly venting fumes. By the time ''Savea'' arrived the island had been washed away, but fumes were still venting from underwater vents.
On August 24, 2009, ''Savea'' was dispatched to rescue , a yacht in distress.][ She was proceeding with her captain and a single crew member. That crew member reported the captain fell overboard, and he did not know how to operate the vessel. In 2009, after 20 years of service, ''Savea'' returned to Australia for a major refit.][ She underwent another refit in Australia, in October 2017.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savea
Savea
Pacific Forum class patrol vessels