Uncrewed Navy Vessels Monitor Maritime Traffic Around Fiji

A joint operation
involving the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), New Zealand
Customs Service (NZCS) and Fijian authorities has
demonstrated how a “persistent presence” in an Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) can help separate the normal from the
criminal.

At the request of the Government of Fiji,
the jointly owned RNZN and Customs Uncrewed Surface Vessels
(USV) Tahi and Rua carried out a four-week deployment in the
waters of Fiji’s EEZ.

The USVs were delivered to
Nadi by a Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130J Hercules. They
were then transported by road to Vuda Marina to be
launched.

Together, the USVs
identified 137 vessels of interest that required additional
scrutiny during a 24/7 surveillance of known maritime
routes.

Powered by a combination of wave, solar and
wind energy, the USVs can remain at sea for weeks at a time,
operating around the clock without requiring resupply to
provide a persistent maritime surveillance
capability.

Equipped with an array of high-tech
surveillance, positioning and photographic systems, Tahi and
Rua continuously report their location and observations back
to a monitoring centre.

This operation’s
intent was “pattern of life”, enabling the Republic of
Fiji Military Forces to develop a clearer understanding of
activity across the region, including volume and patterns of
maritime traffic.

The insights generated may, in the
future, assist Fiji in identifying vessels that do not
conform, allowing an interception, boarding and thorough
search.

Intelligence on suspicious vessels sourced by
NZCS may also be passed to RNZN controllers in a monitoring
centre. A USV could be moved to areas where vessels of
interest are known to operate or where illicit cargo may be
transferred.

Fiji’s Maritime Essential Services
Centre (MESC) in Suva is assessing the information obtained
by the USVs during this operation.

MESC director
Lemeki Lenoa says there is considerable interest in
developing both crewed and uncrewed approaches to combat the
importation of narcotics into Fiji.

“The ultimate
goal is to ensure we have persistent presence, feeding back
here into the MESC,” he said.

“Not only do the
USVs help us address issues around manning, but it allows us
to address the fuel crisis, because they are completely
green-powered.

“We can deploy them into areas to
help understand what is happening in our maritime domain,
and that helps us – Navy, Customs, Fisheries, Police –
develop capabilities and capacity to better respond to
threats.”

The MESC was designed to bring partner
agencies and nationalities under one roof, to address shared
challenges in the region, he said.

“With all the
support we’ve received so far, it’s helped us achieve
actionable, tangible outcomes, by being able to provide
intelligence or information to our partner agencies who can
then prosecute these cases successfully in
court.”

Chief of the Fijian
Navy, Commodore Timoci Natuva, says the technology is an
important addition to Fiji’s maritime surveillance
capabilities.

“This technology is fundamental in
supporting Fiji’s fisheries and border surveillance,
environmental monitoring and the protection of the country’s
extensive maritime domain,” Commodore Natuva
said.

“Illegal narcotics entering our country is
causing so much harm and misery to our people, so any means
to combat this is beneficial to the nation.”

The
operation builds on the strong defence and security
relationship between New Zealand and Fiji. The Duavata
Partnership, signed by the two countries in 2022, identifies
defence cooperation, maritime security, border protection,
capability development and responses to transnational
threats as shared priorities.

NZDF Maritime Component
Commander, Commodore Shane Arndell, says the deployment of
Tahi and Rua is proof-positive of New Zealand’s commitment
to the partnership.

“And it is not just because it
delivers practical security outcomes for Fiji,” Commodore
Arndell said.

“Anything we can do to disrupt the
supply of narcotics into our Pacific Island neighbours is
also proven to disrupt supply into New Zealand.”

The
USVs have now been transported back to New Zealand, ready
for their next
tasking.

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