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Samoa Police Team to escort the Nafanua 3 Patrol Boat from Australia
By Lagi Keresoma
Apia, Samoa – 02 October 2023: A team of 22 police officers will leave for Australia this week to escort the Nafanua 3 Patrol Boat to Samoa.
The team will undergo training while in Australia before the boat is officially handed over by the Australian Government in November 2023.
After the handover, the boat will then start her long voyage to Samoa and is expected to arrive in February 2024.
In a brief ceremony to farewell the team yesterday, the Minister for Police, Faualo Harry Schuster acknowledged the Australian Government’s assistance in providing ministry with another patrol boat.
The new patrol boat replaces the one that was written off after it ran aground a reef outside the Salelologa wharf after delivering a group of police officers when villagers blocked the main road to stop the Human Rights Protection party car rally after the 2021 general elections.
The $30 million dollar boat was later salvaged by a team from Australia that found the boat a total write off and work started to build a new one for Samoa under Australian aid.
The United States came in to assist patrol Samoan waters in the absence of the Nafanua and Japan also bought a small patrol boat in the interim.
Reverend Siaosi Salesulu led a prayer service to farewell the team and encouraged them to stay humble and to note the importance of team work on foreign land.
The team leaves on Wednesday 4th October 2023.
