Vanuatu’s 25- year-old patrol boat the RVS Tukoro has spent over a month on the slipway in Brisbane and is returning to resume Fisheries and surveillance patrol on Vanuatu’s waters soon after the Vt51 million revamp.
The RVS Tukoro Patrol boat is responsible for Maritime surveillance patrol within Vanuatu’s 200 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and limitation boundaries between Vanuatu and Fiji, New Caledonia and Solomon islands. The EEZ of Vanuatu covers 12,190 square kms.
RVS Tukoro
Commander Maritime, Superintendent John Taleo recently said as of April 30, 2011 the Yellow Fin Fisheries Agency has ten foreign fishing vessels, Sunshine Fisheries Limited has 25 foreign fishing vessels and the Tuna Fishing Company has 137 vessels which are fishing in Vanuatu waters right now.
In addition there are domestic licensed foreign fleets based in Port Vila.
RVS Tukoro was donated by the Australian government in 1986.
It is now 25 years old and is supported by the Australian Defence program as well as the Vanuatu government.
