RFNS Puamau
RFNS Puamau is a 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.
Design and description
Puamau is a, a design based on previous patrol boat types constructed by Austal for Australia. The vessel is long overall with a beam of and a draft of when loaded. Puamau is powered by two Caterpillar 3516C diesel engines with two ZF7600 gearboxes turning two fixed pitch propellers creating. The ship has a maximum speed of and a range of at. The ship has berths for up to 23 crew and is equipped with one fast rescue rigid-inflatable boat with two Yamaha engines capable of operating with up to 15 people aboard. There is a cargo deck serviced by a crane and is fitted for but not equipped with an autocannon of up to and a 0.50-calibre machine gun on both the port and starboard sides of the ship.Construction and career
Australia ordered the Guardian-class patrol boats as part of the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project, an Australian government initiative to provide patrol vessels to the surrounding island nations of the Pacific. Twenty-two ships were ordered in all, and Fiji received its first vessel, in 2020. Puamau was the nineteenth vessel constructed under the program, at Austal's shipyard in Henderson, Australia. The future crew of Puamau left Fiji on 2 January 2024 aboard for training on the new ship. Puamau was delivered to Australia on 7 March, who then gifted the vessel to the government of Fiji and the Fijian Navy with Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in attendance. Puamau sailed for Fiji, arriving on 4 May.Grounding
On 11 June 2024, Puamau grounded on a reef at Fulaga Island during its maiden voyage. No one was hurt in the grounding and Australia aided in the salvage of the ship. It is the fourth Guardian-class patrol boat to suffer serious damage, with the Samoan running aground in August 2021 and subsequently being found to be beyond economical repair, replaced by. Vanuatu's and Tuvalu's were damaged when two cyclones hit Vanuatu in March 2023. While Takuare was being repaired in Cairns, Tuvalu was scheduled to receive a replacement boat for Te Mataili II.On 11 October 2024, Fiji's Minister for Home Affairs, Pio Tikoduadua, announced that it would be decommissioned. As replacement,, another Guardian-class boat, was commissioned and given over to Fiji.