Vanuatu’s newest patrol boat RVS Takuare will be officially welcomed in Port Vila today.
There is an air of festivity as hundreds of people have turned up at Feiwa Seafront Park for the arrival of the Guardian-class patrol boat.
The RVS Takuare will enter the harbour led by Provincial custom dressed boats around 10.30am (local time).
There will be a salute by crew members to the public.
Stalls, business booths and entertainment have been organised for the public as part of the programme.
RVS Takuare is the 12th vessel delivered under the Australian Department of Defense’s Pacific Maritime Security Programme.
Australia handed over the patrol boat to Vanuatu at a ceremony in Henderson, Western Australia, on 30 July on Vanuatu’s Independence Day.
The programme is aimed at delivering 21 Guardian-class patrol boats to equip 12 Pacific Island nations and Timor Leste with new maritime patrol capability.
The 12 nations include Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Timor Leste.
During the handover ceremony, Australia Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price said that the new patrol boat demonstrates the strong security relationship between Vanuatu and Australia.
Photo screenshot Vanuatu Police Force Caption: Members of the public await the arrival of RVS Takuare