Defence handed over the Federated States of Micronesia's (FSM) newest Guardian-class patrol boat, FSS Bethwel Henry (P902), on 28 August during a ceremony held at HMAS Stirling, Western Australia. The vessel joins sistership, FSS Tosiwo Nakayama (P901), in service with the FSM Maritime Police and completes Australia’s commitment to supply two vessels to FSM through the Pacific Maritime Security Program (PMSP).
FSS Bethwel Henry is the 16th Guardian class patrol boat delivered by Austal and is the first delivered since May 2022. It is also the first vessel in the class to incorporate a range of defect remediation modifications from the ground-up.
In recent years a number of defects found aboard vessels delivered to Pacific nations have impacted readiness and, in the case of some operators, seaworthiness. The defects take-in a variety of systems including vessel’s exhaust, ventilation, wastewater and drive systems. Remediation work has taken the form of short-term repairs in the country followed by more comprehensive work undertaken alongside in Australia.
ADM understands that of the four major defects, two have been resolved class-wide, while a further two are awaiting the approval of detailed rollout plans.
It is likely that much of the remaining remediation work will take place during planned 30- and 60-month slippings. With a majority of operational vessels delivered in the last three years, many boats are rapidly approaching their 30-month slipping. While this work was originally to be paid for by the operators themselves, as a result of the pandemic Australia has agreed to fund the work for five Pacific nations: Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Fiji.
Planned 60-month slippings for the entire fleet, the first of which is scheduled to commence this year, will also be funded by Australia.
The delivery of FSS Bethwel Henry comes as Timor-Leste prepares to receive its first vessels next year. While all of the other recipients of Guardian-class patrol boats previously operated the Pacific-class, Timor-Leste is a first-time recipient of Australian-provided patrol boats. It is also set to be one of only three countries that intended to arm their Guardian patrol boats with weapons, alongside Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.
In response to previous questions from ADM, Defence has denied plans to arm Timor-Leste's patrol boats, despite official renderings showing the presence of a small calibre cannon forward. However, documents released under Freedom of Information laws show that the country’s Minister of Defence wrote to the Australian government in November 2021 requesting armaments of a “suitable calibre” to “enable a more effective role.”