A navy patrol boat gifted by Australia to Fiji has sustained damage during docking, just six months after a similar vessel provided by Australia to the Pacific Island nation ran aground and was decommissioned.
The RFNS Timo, a Guardian-class patrol boat, was damaged while mooring at the Walu Bay navy pier in Fiji's capital Suva last Thursday.
The Fiji Navy only took ownership of the vessel — the third of its kind provided to Fiji by the federal government — during a ceremony in Western Australia last month.
"Australia and Fiji are committed to enhancing security cooperation to respond to shared regional challenges such as transnational crime and maritime security threats," said a statement from Defence at the time.
The wharf at Stanley Brown Naval Base, which was struck by the RFNS Timo, was also funded by the Australian government as part of a redevelopment project to ensure it could berth Guardian-class patrol boats.
A spokesperson for Defence told the ABC that: "As RFNS Timo is a sovereign asset of Fiji, this is a matter for the Fijian government.
"Defence understands there is an investigation underway by Fiji into the incident," they said.
Fiji Ports declined to comment when contacted by the ABC.
The Fiji Navy was also approached for comment.
The RFNS Timo was a replacement for a separate Guardian-class patrol boat, the RFNS Puamau, which hit a reef during its maiden voyage in June shortly after being gifted by Australia.
The Puamau was decommissioned by the Fiji Navy in October.
Donations of Guardian-class boats have run into problems elsewhere
The Guardian-class patrol boats are popular with Pacific Island governments, which use the Australian-built high-tech vessels to survey their vast maritime zones and track illegal fishing.
Some 22 vessels have been provided to Pacific nations under Australia's Pacific Maritime Security Program.
But the program has also been plagued by issues — with Pacific Minister Pat Conroy revealing not long after taking office in 2022 that the patrol vessels had several defects including potential problems with the exhaust system.
Multiple patrol vessels have also been damaged in recent years due to mishaps or natural disasters.
Australia handed a new Guardian-class patrol boat to Samoa late last year after the police ran aground the $30 million Nafanua II in October 2021, damaging it beyond repair.
Two other patrol boats — Tuvalu's HMTSS Te Mataili, and Vanuatu's RVS Takuare — were also badly damaged by the twin cyclones that hit Vanuatu in 2023.
