Parliament

Fiji Navy to prioritize hydrographic surveying

February 12, 2019 4:18 pm

Speaking in Parliament today, the Defense Minister, Inia Seruiratu

The RFNS Kacau is a new multi-purpose vessel that Fiji has acquired from China that will assist the Navy in carrying out hydrographic surveying.

Effectively, the survey will assist the Fijian Navy with navigation, assessing the safety of our waters as well as its economic viability.

Speaking in Parliament today, the Defense Minister, Inia Seruiratu says with Fiji’s Exclusive Economic Zone measured at around 1,290,000 square meters, there’s still a massive area that’s unknown.

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“Honorable Speaker, the current status of Hydrographic Survey and charting in Fiji is as follows, and I will end here, for depths less than 200 meters, 63 percent of Fiji’s waters has been adequately surveyed, 30 percent requires to resurvey and seven percent has never been systematically surveyed.”

Seruiratu was responding to an oral question from Government MP, Rohit Sharma who asked for an explanation on the hydrographic responsibility of the Navy and its’ newly acquired vessel.