Australia’s largest naval vessel sailed into the Suva Harbour this morning carrying sixty tonnes of relief items and aid.

The HMAS Canberra is here on a request from the Fijian government to assist in the relief operations following Tropical Cyclone Winston.

There are seven hundred and fifty people on board – all ready to help in rebuilding Fiji after TC Winston.

Joint Task Force Commander Brett Sonter says the HMAS Canberra brings a wide range of gear which will come in handy in many aspects.

“This platform will provide you with greater assessments also engineering assessment debris clearance water purification and the delivery of first aid around the Fijian Islands. Containers carry a bunch of food and also shelters primarily that could actually be put into areas to provide those necessities that we see are important in the whole reconstruction efforts that are the next phase of what we’ve seeing in this process.”

Personnel from the vessel have already been deployed to some of the affected islands that need serious attention.

The Australian government confirms the HMAS Canberra will primarily focus on the outer islands some of which were directly in the path of TC Winston.