RFNS ''Kula'' (201) is a Pacific Forum patrol boat operated by

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. She was designed and built by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Australia agreed to provide twenty-two patrol boats to twelve of its neighbours and fellow members of the Pacific Forum, after the recently concluded

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 c ...

extended maritime nations' exclusive economic zone to . Australia provided two other patrol vessels to Fiji, and . Australia also provided training and infrastructure.

Operational history

On June 27, 1994, ''Kula'' undertook her first

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

expedition, eventually finding and rescuing two young girls from

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

whose punt had gone adrift. The weather was bad and visibility was poor when she arrived at the search site over twelve hours later, and her commander, Viliame Nauputo, requested the assistance of a

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

aircraft, from Noumea. In 2004 armed crew-members boarded and captured a pirate fishing vessel. In June 2017 ''Kula'' rescued four

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

businessmen when their

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

was wrecked in Fiji waters. Although Australia designed the vessels using

commercial off-the-shelf Commercial off-the-shelf or commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) products are packaged or canned (ready-made) hardware or software, which are adapted aftermarket to the needs of the purchasing organization, rather than the commissioning of ...

, so smaller countries, like Fiji, would find them easier to maintain, Fiji found the vessels hard to maintain, and there were periods that only ''Kula'' remained operational. A decommissioning ceremony was held on December 22, 2019, prior to ''Kula''s final voyage to Australia, for disassembly.

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Viliame Naupoto Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto is the commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, appointed by President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau on August 1, 2015 to replace Commander Mosese Tikoitoga, which took command in early 2014. Naupoto later served ...

, the commanding officer of the Fiji Military Forces, spoke at the ceremony. Naupoto had served aboard ''Kula''s commissioning voyage in 1994. ''Kula'' departed for Australia on January 20, 2020.

Replacement

Australia started building 21 larger and more capable replacement vessels in 2017. Fiji is scheduled to receive two new vessels. will replace ''Kula'' is scheduled to be delivered in March 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kula (201) Ships of the Fijian Navy Pacific Forum class patrol vessels 1994 ships