A British naval vessel arrives in Samoa on Sunday and is on a tour of the region conducting environmental and hydrographic surveys and maritime surveillance of Pacific nation's exclusive economic zones.

The HMS Spey, which departed Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth in the United Kingdom in September last year with sister vessel HMS Tamar, are on a five-year deployment of the waters off Africa to the west coast of the U.S.

A statement released by the UK High Commission in Apia, said the HMS Spey has worked with regional partners to carry out environmental and hydrographic surveys as well as water sampling to aid studies on climate change.

Her recent work in support of the Forum Fisheries Agency (F.F.A.) has seen the ship contribute to the fight against illegal, unregulated and unreported fisheries activity.

The visit by the warship to Apia will coincide with the celebration of the Commonwealth Day on 14 March with the High Commission hosting an event to mark Commonwealth Day and the vessel’s two-day visit.

The UK High Commissioner to Samoa, David Ward, said that he is delighted to welcome HMS Spey to Samoan waters and to Apia Port on the occasion of the Commonwealth Day. 

"I hope this visit will mark the establishment of a close and productive relationship between HMS Spey and the Samoan Police Maritime Wing, laying the ground for close cooperation in future on areas such as fisheries protection and surveillance which are so important to Samoa and which reflect our shared Commonwealth values," Mr. Ward said in a statement.

The ship will also work closely with Samoa's Police Maritime Wing including on matters of maritime and fisheries surveillance.

The Operations Officer on the HMS Spey, Lieutenant Commander Tim Wood, said that unregulated fishing activity is the largest threat to the majority of Pacific Island nations after global warming and sea level rise.

"Spey's presence in the area has assisted governments of the region to cover the vast exclusive economic zones to monitor and report fishing activity,” Lieutenant Wood said.

“This increases control of natural resources to assist the regional economy and monitor the sustainability of fishing stocks.”

According to the UK High Commission statement, all COVID-19 protocols will be observed and there will be no direct contact between visitors and onshore staff.

According to a statement issued by the Royal Navy, both the HMS Spey and HMS Tamar are crewed by 46 sailors with half of them trading places with shipmates from the UK every few weeks. 

“The constant rotation allows the Navy to get the most out of the ships, with the crews at sea for up to nine months of the year, while the vessels themselves ready for operations all year round.”