KOROR (Palau Horizon) – Palau’s lone patrol boat PSS Remeliik will be unavailable for six months as it is set to leave Palau in November for a six-month refitting.
Justice Minister Johnny Gibbons in an interview said that in the absence of the patrol boat, Palau will have to depend on neighboring countries to conduct surveillance of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
He said that Palau can ask for the assistance of the Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of the Marshall Islands to patrol the waters.
PSS Remeliik has to monitor the country’s EEZ which covers 237,000 square miles of ocean. Surveillance by the patrol boat is only conducted once a month and is not capable of covering the entire EEZ.
At most, Gibbons said, Remeliik only goes out to sea for a period of 10 days to police the seas from poachers.
“We only have one patrol boat, how can you effectively patrol the entire EEZ,” Gibbons said.
He added that the refitting is necessary to allow the patrol boat’s life to extend for 15 more years. The ship will be scheduled to undergo refit in Australia and is expected to return in April.
PSS Remeliik was donated by the Australian government in 1996 to be used primarily for maritime surveillance and fisheries protection.
The Remeliik have a long history of intercepting foreign fishing vessels entering the country’s EEZ to conduct illegal fishing.
Aside from the maritime surveillance, Palau also uses Vessel Monitoring System to detect vessel operation at sea.
Last week, a boat from the Philippines with 33 fishermen onboard was apprehended by Remeliik for fishing without permit in Palau waters.
