Vanuatu is a nation and group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It is composed of over 80 islands with 2,528 kilometres (1,571 mi) of coastline and a total surface area of 12,189 square kilometres (4,706 sq mi). It's a small country with a total size of 12,189 km2 (4,706 sq mi). Due to the spread out islands it has the 39th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 663,251 km2 (256,083 sq mi).
The Pacific class is a class of 22 patrol boats built by Australia and donated to twelve South Pacific countries. The vessels were constructed between 1985 and 1997 and are operated by the militaries, coast guards or police forces of the twelve island nations. These boats are supported by the Pacific Patrol Boat Program and used primarily for maritime surveillance and fisheries protection.
The Vanuatu Police Force is the national law enforcement of Vanuatu. The VPF is headquartered in Port Vila and has two specialised arms: a small para-military force, the Vanuatu Mobile Force, and a maritime force, the Vanuatu Police Maritime Wing.
The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) is the national police force of Solomon Islands and in January 2015 had an establishment of approximately 1,153 officers and 43 police stations across the country.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam was the second 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 Vanuatu. A total of 15–16 people died either directly or indirectly as a result of Pam with many others injured. The storm's impacts were also felt, albeit to a lesser extent, on other islands in the South Pacific, most notably the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and New Zealand. Pam is the third most intense storm of the South Pacific Ocean according to pressure, after Winston of 2016 and Zoe of 2002. It is also the second most intense tropical cyclone in 2015, only behind Hurricane Patricia. In addition, Pam is tied with Orson, Monica, Marcus and Fantala for having the second strongest ten-minute maximum sustained winds in the Southern Hemisphere. Thousands of homes, schools and buildings were damaged or destroyed, with an estimated 3,300 people displaced as a result.
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.
HMPNGS Seeadler (P03) is one of four Pacific Forum patrol vessels operated by the Papua New-Guinea Defence Force.
RSIPV Lata is one of the Pacific Forum patrol boats Australia gave to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force.
RSIPV Auki is one of the Pacific Forum patrol boats Australia gave to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force.
VOEA Neiafu (P201) was a Pacific Forum patrol vessel operated by Tonga from 1989 until its decommissioning in 2020.
HMTSS Te Mataili II (802) is the second Guardian-class patrol boat completed, and the first to be given to the small Pacific Ocean nation Tuvalu. She was commissioned on 5 April 2019, replacing Te Mataili, a Pacific Forum patrol vessel, that had reached the end of her designed lifetime.
VOEA Savea (P203) was a Pacific Forum patrol vessel operated by the Tongan Maritime Force from 1989 to April 2019.
RSIPV Gizo (05) is a Guardian-class patrol boat in service with the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force Maritime Department. She was the fifth boat of her class to be completed. Australian officials officially handed her over to representatives of the Solomon Islands on 8 November 2019, at the Austal shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia.
RKS Teanoai II (301) is a Guardian-class patrol boat in service with the Kiribati Maritime Police. She was given to the Republic of Kiribati by Australia as part of the Pacific Maritime Security Program, in which Australia donates patrol boats to neighbouring Pacific Island nations in order to improve regional maritime security. She was the eighth boat of her class when launched in April 2020, but became the eleventh to be delivered due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. She was officially handed over to the Kiribati police crew at the Austal shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia on 18 June 2021, replacing the 27-year-old Pacific-class patrol boat RKS Teanoai as the small island nation's sole maritime security craft.
VOEA Pangai (P202) was a Pacific Forum patrol vessel of Tonga, operated by the Tonga Maritime Force.
Nadia Kanegai is a social entrepreneur, politician and historian from Vanuatu. She made the first study of women's traditional tattooing on Ambae. She has stood as a candidate in three elections in Vanuatu and was a prominent community activist during the 2017 and 2018 eruptions of Manaro Voui.
RVS Takuare is a Guardian-class patrol boat in service with the Vanuatu 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 RVS Tukoro, 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 nation.
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 the transfer of 21 Guardian-class patrol boats. The program was initiated under the 2018 Boe Declaration on Regional Security.
Nafanua III (04) is a Guardian-class patrol boat entering service with the Samoan Police Force. She was given to Samoa by Australia as part of the Pacific Maritime Security Program, in which Australia donates patrol boats to neighbouring Pacific Island nations to improve regional maritime security. She is the 2nd boat given to Samoa under the program, as she was ordered by Australia on 2 November 2022 as a replacement for her sister ship Nafanua II, which was damaged beyond repair when she ran aground on 5 August 2021. Nafanua II had only two years earlier replaced the 31-year-old Pacific-class patrol boat Nafanua as the small island nation's sole maritime security craft. Although she was ordered as the 22nd and ultimate boat of her class, she was delivered on 22 November 2023 as the 18th.
RFNS Puamau (402) is a Guardian-class patrol boat donated to Fiji by Australia as part of the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project. The vessel entered service on 7 March 2024. The ship is used to patrol Fijian waters.
Vanuatu