Serious defects discovered in patrol boats Australia supplied to Pacific Islands

Pacific island countries may halt the use of Australian-provided patrol boats after potentially serious defects were discovered, in a blow to a $2.1bn maritime security program.

It is understood the Department of Defence has given Pacific countries advice on how to minimise the risks if they wish to keep using their Guardian-class patrol boats while the manufacturer looks for longer-term solutions.

Two other problems emerged during the recent Australian election campaign, but were not disclosed publicly until now.

In early May 2022, concerns were raised that the medical bay in the vessel uses recirculated air, rather than fresh air.

But the most concerning problem, discovered in mid-May, was a fault in the exhaust system. It is understood carbon monoxide was entering a compartment. While this part of the boat is not normally crewed, the issue could still pose health risks.

Pacific island countries were notified formally of the new problems in June.

Australia has so far given 15 Guardian-class patrol vessels to regional neighbours, starting with the delivery of one to Papua New Guinea in November 2018. Other countries to have received them include Tuvalu, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Palau and Kiribati.

The steel patrol boats are nearly 40 metres long and are used for a range of purposes, including preventing illegal fishing and on search and rescue operations.

Guardian Australia has been told that the designer and manufacturer, Austal Australia, has accepted that the problems are latent defects that it will work to resolve.

The boats have been provided under the Pacific Maritime Support Program, which is worth $2.1bn. This overall price tag includes the supply of 22 Guardian-class patrol boats to Pacific countries and Timor-Leste and also includes sustainment and maritime surveillance support.

Australian taxpayers are not expected to foot the bill for fixing the problems, except for the costs of Defence travel to assess the issues.

The problems may also put a cloud over the schedule for the delivery of seven further boats: one each for PNG, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Marshall Islands and Samoa, and two for Timor-Leste.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, announced during a visit to Samoa four weeks ago that Australia would provide the country with a new Guardian-class patrol boat to replace the one that ran aground on a reef last year.

It is understood the new Australian government became aware of the problems after that offer was made, amid growing strategic competition for influence in the Pacific.

The Australian government anticipates that China will step up its push to expand influence in the Pacific. A senior government figure privately conceded last week that Canberra had a lot of work to do to regain lost trust and strengthen regional unity.

It plans to consult Pacific countries about options for boosting aerial surveillance, such as increasing flying hours and the number of aircraft, improving sensors and using drones.

The Labor government also plans to establish a new Australia-Pacific Defence School.