The first of 21 new Australian made patrol boats has been named after PNG’s first PNG Defence Force Commander, Ted Diro.
The new Guardian Class Pacific Patrol Boat, worth K36.4 million (AUD$16 million), was launched on May 29th, at Australian Marine Complex at Henderson, Western Australia, and named as Ted Diro with the pennant number 401.
The patrol boat is a gift to PNG as part of the Pacific maritime security program.
The Guardian Class Pacific Patrol Boat has a length of 39.5 metres, a maximum speed of 20 knots and a complement of 23 crewmembers.
Powered by two 5,400hp diesel engines, the vessel can travel 3,000 nautical miles at 12 knots and will have a 30mm autocannon, two heavy machine guns and a launching ramp at the stern for a pursuit boat.
Building of the vessel was completed in April 2017 and is scheduled to be delivered to PNG in late October 2018 while the second and third boats are at various stages of construction.
In total, 21 patrol boats will be gifted to 12 Pacific Island countries and East Timor Leste under Canberra’s SEA 3036 Pacific Patrol Boat program.
These patrol boats will be used by the countries to conduct maritime surveillance and enforcement operations like fighting illegal fishing.
(The first Pacific Patrol Boat, seen here on the day of its launch on 29 May 2018 – Picture: Austal)