Officers from the Fiji Police Force are undergoing a week-long training that is expected to enhance their maritime assistance/support capabilities.
Facilitated by Masafumi Tominaga and Ryouji Takuma and Yoshinori Yamamoto, the training sees officers taught the handling, maintenance, and operating of rigid inflatable boats that were donated to Fiji Police by the Japanese Government under Japan’s Economic and Social Development Programme last year.
The training was to have been held last March but was postponed because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Police Commissioner Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho said the organisation had been looking forward to the conduct of the training.
“These boats will assist us with operations during natural disasters and our ability to deploy teams quickly, counter-narcotics and if everything goes well, we could deploy them as early as Saturday,” Brig-Gen Qiliho said.
The boats were part of the $5.5 million grant aid provided by the Japanese Government which included a patrol boat, rigid inflatable boats, rescue boats, diving equipment, an underwater communication system, and underwater cameras.
