Solomon Islands refuses refueling entry for US, UK vessels on IUU patrols

The Solomon Islands has refused to allow a U.S. Coast Guard vessel and U.K. navy vessel on illegal fishing patrols to enter its ports to refuel.

The U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Oliver Henry was diverted to Papua New Guinea after failing to obtain entry to refuel at Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, an official from the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The incident “is significant in terms of signaling a shift towards China and away from the U.S.,” said Whitley Saumweber, director of the Stephenson Ocean Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C.

The Solomon Islands has significantly tightened its political and economic ties with China in the past year, and Saumweber said the rejections of foreign navies could be a result of that shift.

“This is the first concrete action in the wake of reports on the security agreement with China earlier this year. It seems intentionally provocative, especially given that the vessels were participating in a joint anti-IUU operation ostensibly being led by the PIF [Pacific Islands Forum, a bloc of 17 Pacific nations],” Saumweber told SeafoodSource. “I can't speak to the specifics of impacts on USCG patrol routes or range, but it seems certain to make direct engagement with the [Pacific Islands Forum Fishery Agency] Security Center in Honiara more difficult and negatively impact future joint operations.”

The British navy has declined to confirm that its patrol vessel, the HMS Spey, was denied port access by the Solomon Islands. The Spey was taking part in the PIF patrol against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the South Pacific Ocean, nicknamed Operation Island Chief.

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