 VOEA Ngahau Siliva (P302) at Austal shipyards in Henderson, Western Australia, 1 August 2020. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Tonga | |
| Name | VOEA Ngahau Siliva |
| Acquired | 30 October 2020 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Sea trials |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Guardian-class patrol vessel |
VOEA Ngahau Siliva (P302) is the second of Tonga's two Guardian-class patrol vessels. [1] [2] [3] [4] She is the eighth vessel of the 21 vessels in her class. [5]
After the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea established that all maritime nations were entitled to exercise control over a 200-kilometre (120 mi) exclusive economic zone, Australia agreed to give small patrol boats to Tonga and eleven other neighbours in the Pacific Islands Forum.
Tonga was given three Pacific Forum-class patrol vessels in 1989, 1990 and 1991, VOEA Neiafu, VOEA Pangai and VOEA Savea. Those vessels were designed to have a working life of at least 30 years, so Australia designed the Guardian class, a slightly larger, and more capable replacement class. Australia delivered her sister ship, the third vessel of her class, VOEA Ngahau Koula, to Tonga on June 21, 2019. [6] [7]
She was formally handed over to Tonga on 30 October 2020, at Austal's shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia. The handover was attended by High Commissioner Princess Angelika Latufuipeka Tuku’aho and Lieutenant Colonel Tevita Siu Fifita, representing Tonga, and Melissa Price the Minister for Defence Industry and Rear Admiral Wendy Malcolm, representing Australia. [1] [5]
The vessel arrived at her home port, Nuku'alofa, on 16 December 2020. [8] To prevent the possibility of spreading infection of the COVID-19 virus her crew were placed under quarantine.
HM King Tupou VI commissioned the vessel on January 27, 2021. [9]
Tupou VI is the current King of Tonga.
USCGC Harriet Lane (WMEC-903) is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Named after Harriet Lane, niece and official hostess of President James Buchanan. Harriet Lane was constructed by Tacoma Boatbuilding, Tacoma, Washington and delivered 20 April 1984.
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-speed ferries, and supply or crew transfer vessels for offshore windfarms and oil and gas platforms.
Halaevalu Mata'aho ʻAhomeʻe was Queen of Tonga from 1965 to 2006, as the wife of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. She was the mother of King George Tupou V and the current King of Tonga, Tupou VI.
The Tongan Maritime Force is the naval arm of His Majesty's Armed Forces of Tonga.
VOEA Ngahau Koula (P101) was the first ship of the Tongan Maritime Force. It was built in the United Kingdom, at Brooke Marine in Lowestoft, and was commissioned on 10 March 1973. The ship was one of several of the same aluminum-hulled class, which were used in ex-British colonies after they were granted independence. It was joined in 1976 by a sister ship, Ngahau Siliva, which incorporated several improvements to the design, most notably an increase in their range from 800 to 1000 miles.
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.
VOEA Neiafu (P201) was a Pacific Forum patrol vessel operated by Tonga from 1989 until its decommissioning in 2020.
HMPNGS Ted Diro (P401) was the first Guardian-class patrol boat to be completed. Australia designed and provided four Pacific Forum-class patrol vessels to Papua New Guinea in 1987 and 1988, and in 2015 confirmed she would be replacing those vessels with four larger, and more capable, Guardian-class vessels.
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 Ngahau Koula may refer to the following ships
VOEA Ngahau Koula (P301) is a Guardian-class patrol vessel designed and built for the Tonga Maritime Force by Australia. After the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea established that all maritime nations were entitled to exercise control over a 200-kilometre (120 mi) exclusive economic zone, Australia agreed to give small patrol boats to Tonga and eleven other neighbours in the Pacific Islands Forum.
VOEA Savea (P203) was a Pacific Forum patrol vessel operated by the Tongan Maritime Force from 1989 to April 2019.
PSS Remeliik II is a Guardian-class patrol boat in the service of Palau's Division of Maritime Law Enforcement, built, and provided by Australia to replace the Pacific Forum patrol boat PSS Remeliik. In the late 1980s and early 1990s Australia helped its smaller neighbours, in the Pacific Forum by building small patrol boats so they could protect their own sovereignty. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), had extended an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) 200 kilometres (120 mi) off the shores of all maritime nations, and for small Island nations in the Pacific protecting their EEZ would be an overwhelming problem.
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.
RFNS Savenaca (401) is a Guardian-class patrol boat, built in Australia for Fiji's Navy. She replaced RFNS Kula, a Pacific Forum patrol vessel provided by Australia in 1994. She will be the seventh vessel of the class to be completed, and the second of two to be delivered to Fiji. She was commissioned in April 2020.
The Republic of Fiji Navy or Fijian Navy is the naval branch of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. Formerly known as the Royal Fijian Navy, it was established after Fiji ratified the recently created 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Convention established that maritime nations had an Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 kilometres, which extended Fiji's waters twentyfold, from 50,000 square miles (130,000 km2) to over 1,000,000 square miles (2,600,000 km2), necessitating a more substantial naval force to enforce Fijian jurisdiction and protect economic activity in the Fijian EEZ.
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.
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.
According to Component Commander of the Navy, Commander Haisi Fonohema, Tonga will receive the 2 new patrol boats by 2019-2020.
On completion of the refit package, the boat was handed over to the crew under the command of Lieutenant Commander Semisi Tapueluelu for work-up on upgraded systems and preparations for passage back to Tonga.
The Tongan Royal Navy has taken delivery of a Guardian-class patrol vessel from Australia.
The Tongan Royal Navy's Ngahau Koula was received by His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala and Captain Sione Ulakai, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff to His Majesty's Armed Forces, at a ceremony in Western Australia.
Tonga Navy's new patrol boat, the VOEA Ngahau Siliva which arrived from Australia on December 16, remains quarantined with 22-crew at the Nuku'alofa harbour.
HM King Tupou VI commissioned the Tonga Navy's VOEA Ngahau Siliva patrol boat at the Masefield Base, Touliki, today.
