Cook Islands News

Shipbuilding group Austal announced its Austal Australia division has delivered the 18th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, Nafanua III, was accepted by representatives from the Department of Defense and then gifted by the Australian Government, to the Samoa Police Service at a handover ceremony held at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia on Wednesday.Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said Nafanua III is the third Guardian-class Patrol Boat delivered by Austal in 2023…

On 28 October, the maritime leaders of tomorrow - World Maritime University (WMU) class of 2023 - graduated. The WMU 2023 graduating class includes 283 graduates from 71 countries, including a record of 99 women graduates.WMU President, Professor Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr., delivered welcome remarks. As a WMU graduate himself, President Mejia reflected on the power of the WMU experience and how it affects the way one thinks, works, plans, and interacts. “You have acquired information that you did not possess before you enrolled here," he said.

Australian shipbuilding group Austal announced its Austal Australia arm has delivered the 17th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, HMPNGS Gilbert Toropo, was then gifted by the Australian Government to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force at a handover ceremony held at the HMAS Stirling naval base in Western Australia.The new Guardian-class Patrol Boat is the fourth of four vessels to be gifted to Papua New Guinea under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project…

Britain's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Friday a vessel off Yemen's southern coast was involved in an "incident" with a government boat, downgrading the event from its initial assessment of an attack.The agency had previously said the vessel was under attack and that shots were fired, adding that three boats, each with three or four people aboard, were also sighted.UKMTO later said it had confirmed the event by authorities as government agency activity, terming the event incident rather than an attack.Yemen's coast guard, when contacted by Reuters, confirmed a report in Yeme

The international ship registries of Djibouti and the Cook Islands suspended the flags on five oil tankers, following sanctions by the United States this month for having facilitated oil trade for Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force, nongovernment organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) said on Monday.The U.S. Treasury Department in early November imposed sanctions on a wide network of companies, people and vessels accused of concealing the Iranian origins of shipments and exporting them around the world.Oil tankers Bueno…

Australian shipbuilding group Austal Limited announced that the Australian Government has ordered an additional Guardian-class Patrol Boat from Austal Australia for A$15.2 million.The 39.5-meter steel hull patrol boat, to be constructed in Western Australia and delivered in September 2024, is in addition to the 21 Guardian-class Patrol Boats ordered by the Australian Government under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project (SEA3036-1) in 2016.Fifteen of the 21 vessels have been delivered to 11 Pacific Island nations under the Australian Government’s Pacific Maritime Security Program…

Shipbuilding group Austal announced its Austal Australia arm has delivered the 15th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, Te Kukupa II, was then gifted by the Australian Government to the Cook Islands at a certificate signing ceremony at Austal’s shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia.The new Guardian-class Patrol Boat replaces the original Te Kukupa, a Pacific-class Patrol Boat gifted to the Cook Islands in 1989 and recently decommissioned…

Fiji court ruled on Tuesday that the United States can seize a Russian-owned superyacht, 21 days after it arrived and was impounded by police, as the United States and its allies press Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.U.S. authorities assert that the luxury vessel, the Amadea, is ultimately owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union.The U.S. Justice Department's Taskforce KleptoCapture has focused on seizing yachts and other luxury assets to put the finances of Russian oligarchs under strain in a bid to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.

Marine minerals are coming under sharp focus offshore Norway. Analysts suggest it could be a $20 billion annual revenue industry by 2050, which is why many are taking an interest and developing the technology to make it happen. Marine mineral mining has been something of a slow burner in the wider marine world. It has some clear challenges, not least location and depth of these potential resources, but also concerns around its environmental impact.Yet it now appears to be coming into a distinctly sharp focus…

The Australian Department of Defense has handed over a newly built patrol boat to the Republic of Vanuatu. The vessel, the RVS Takuare, was gifted by the Australian Government to the South Pacific Ocean nation at a certificate signing ceremony held at the Australian Marine Complex, in Henderson, Western Australia.The vessel is the 12th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) built by Austal Australia and the first to be delivered to Vanuatu under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project (SEA3036-1)…

Australian shipbuilding group Austal announced on Friday it has delivered the 11th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, the RKS Teanoai II, was then gifted by the Australian government to the government of the Republic of Kiribati during a ceremony at Austal Australia’s Henderson shipyard.The vessel is the first Guardian-class Patrol Boat to be delivered to Kiribati under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project (SEA3036-1)…

Shipbuilding group Austal announced it has has delivered the ninth Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, the future HMPNGS Rochus Lokinap, was then gifted by the Australian Government to the Papua New Guinea Defense Force at a ceremony held at Austal Australia’s Henderson shipyard.The vessel is the second of four Guardian-class Patrol Boats to be delivered to Papua New Guinea under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project, part of the Australian Government’s Pacific Maritime Security Program…

This month MR dives inside the $60 million refit of RV Roger Revelle, a project which leverages a treasure trove of ‘lessons learned’ from recent refits in the academic research vessel fleet and highlights the value of slimming the vendor list.Research vessel (R/V) Roger Revelle is back at work after a midlife refit involving upgrades from top to bottom, bow to stern. The ship is owned by the Office of Naval Research and has been operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego since 1996. It is one of the largest ships in the U.S.

A tanker vessel rescued of 18 Ecuadorians after their 72-foot commercial fishing vessel sank Friday approximately 350 miles north of the Galapagos Islands, the U.S. Coast Guard said.USCG 11th District watchstanders received an alert from an emergency position-indicating radio beacon from an unknown vessel north of the Galapagos Islands at 4:30 a.m. Friday.District watchstanders requested aerial support and notified Ecuador who began to investigate the EPIRB’s registration and…

Shipbuilder Austal Limited announced that its Austal Australia division has delivered the eighth Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense.The vessel, VOEA Ngahau Siliva, was gifted by the Australian Government to the Kingdom of Tonga during a handover ceremony at Austal Australia’s Henderson shipyard on Friday.Austal Chief Operating Officer and CEO Designate Patrick Gregg noted VOEA Ngahau Siliva was the second Guardian-class Patrol Boat delivered…

Shipbuilder Austal Australia has delivered the seventh Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, PSS President H.I. Remeliik II, was gifted by the Government of Australia to the Government of Palau during a handover ceremony at Austal Australia’s Henderson shipyard.Austal Chief Executive David Singleton said this Guardian-class Patrol Boat delivery was unique as it is the first to take place under COVID-19 restrictions.The 39.5-meter steel monohull patrol boat—designed…

Swire Shipping, trading division of China Navigation Company, announced it will be entering a new vessel sharing partnership from New Zealand to Tonga, Samoa (Apia), Cook Islands and Fiji. This market leading service will depart every 10 days from Auckland.“Swire Shipping has built up a strong reputation for itself as a market leader connecting the Pacific Islands to the world. Today’s launch will enable us to offer expanded global coverage into the Pacific Islands, as well as specifically providing New Zealand customers with a new direct service alternative. Our aim is to offer best in class and reliable services from all key trading countries and regions importing and exporting to the Pacific Islands…

The Cook Islands and Sao Tome and Principe have become the latest States to become Party to the Cape Town Agreement on fishing vessel safety.These small nations deposited their instruments of accession during the Torremolinos Ministerial Conference on Fishing Vessel Safety and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing (21-23 October).At the same time, they joined 44 other countries (46 in total) signing the Torremolinos Declaration, a non-legally binding political instrument.By signing the Declaration, the 46 States publicly indicate their determination to ensure the Cape Town Agreement reaches entry into force criteria by the tenth anniversary of its adoption (11 October 2022).

The initial phase of the Glofouling Partnerships project is now well and truly underway with a series of technical workshops in the Pacific, stated  International Maritime Organization (IMO).The UN body said that the key message delivered to participants was that once introduced, marine invasive species can be hard to eradicate - and invasive species represent a potential major threat to the Pacific Ocean's biodiversity and the ecological integrity of Small Island Developing States.The GEF-UNDP-IMO GloFouling Partnerships project aims to protect marine biodiversity by addressing bio-invasions by organisms which can build up on ship's hulls and other marine structures.Meanwhile…

The Cook Islands flag, operated by ship registry Maritime Cook Islands (MCI), has shown positive flag state performance, as reported in the latest report on Port State Control in the Asia Pacific Region by Tokyo MOU. The data and figures were published in the new report on Port State Control in the Asia Pacific by Tokyo MOU. The Tokyo MOU is “one of the most active regional port State control (PSC) organisations in the world” and consists of 20 member authorities in the Asia-Pacific region. In the recently published report, Cook Islands reported a decrease in the number of inspections with deficiencies; from 27 in 2016 to 20 in 2017. Number of deficiencies has also seen a significant decrease from 181 in 2016 to 116 in 2017.

Women in maritime are a key contributor to the maritime transport sector. This was the message of Helen Buni from International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s gender programme as she opened the second regional conference for Pacific Women in Maritime held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, (26–28 April). The conference highlighted the significant progress made by the women in maritime association (WIMA) in the Pacific to integrate more women into the industry. The event reaffirmed the objectives to guide the Pacific region towards gender equity and equality in the maritime industry – as well as working to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 (to empower all women and girls).

The China Navigation Company (CNCo) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment (SPREP) have today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to address critical waste management issues in the Pacific islands. Known as the “Moana Taka Partnership”, this MOU allows for CNCo vessels to carry containers of recyclable waste from eligible Pacific island ports, pro bono, to be sustainably treated and recycled in suitable ports in Asia Pacific. “This historic partnership will be of great benefit to our Pacific islands, and one for which we are very appreciative to The China Navigation Company,” said Kosi Latu, Director General of SPREP. “Our Pacific islands face an immense waste management challenge.

The concentrated inspection campaign (CIC) on safety of navigation was carried out in the Tokyo MoU region from 1 September 2017 to 30 November 2017. Within the campaign, Tokyo MOU member Authorities verified vital points of compliance in accordance with SOLAS Ch. V on all types of foreign merchant ships. During the CIC, member Authorities inspected a total of 6,720 vessels, of which 36 (0.54%) were detained as a direct result of the campaign. In total 157 (2.34%) ships were detained during the campaign. The highest number of inspections were carried out on ships flying the flags of Panama 1,876 (27.92%), Hong Kong (China) 650 (9.67%), the Marshall Islands 610 (9.08%) and Liberia 543 (8.08%).