A crew has already been identified to travel to Australia to undergo training before they sail the new Nafanua patrol boat back to Samoa in January next year.

Details on the training of personnel from the Samoa Police, Prisons, and Corrections Services (SPPCS) to man the new patrol boat were given by Australia's Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy during a door-stop with the local media on Thursday prior to his departure.

He said the vessel will be launched in the Henderson shipyard in Australia in November this year and will be sailed to Samoa by a Samoan crew in January next year.

"That boat will be launched in the Henderson shipyard in, I think it’s the middle of November, November 17 so we’ll be launching it on November 17, and the intention is to sail it over in January by your crew," Mr. Conroy said in response to a question from the Samoa Observer.

"And I was talking to the Commissioner of the Police this morning and he said he’s already identified the crew and they will be heading over to Australia around September for more training and then they’ll bring the patrol boat over."

The new vessel – which is a replacement for Nafanua II which got damaged in August 2021 and was written off by the Australian and Samoan Governments early last year – is part of the Australian Government funded Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Program which has been running since 2018. The shipbuilding contract, which is being delivered by Australian firm Austal Australia from its Henderson shipyard in Western Australia, was to roll out 19 or more 39.5 meters steel vessels for 13 Pacific nations, according to the firm's website.

Mr. Conroy said Australia feels proud and privileged to be providing support for Samoa's maritime security, even using a leased ship temporarily while the new vessel is being built.

"I’ve inspected the construction yards in Henderson and I’m really confident that when that patrol boat comes over here you’ll have a world-class capability," he added.