HILARY HOSIA
Patrol vessels Teanoai from the Republic of Kiribati and Lomor from Marshall Islands conducted joint operations and open ocean exercises last week following Teanoai’s arrival in Majuro Thursday.
Locals from the Kiribati community and host seafarers serenaded Teanoai’s 19-man crew upon arrival at the Sea Patrol headquarters in Delap.
Teanoai’s Captain Ruka Ratieta and a spokesperson said their mission was to enhance bilateral engagement and to enforce maritime laws of the two neighboring nations.
Ratieta said joint operations were to kick off Saturday beginning in RMI waters and then moving onward to Kiribati by Wednesday, by which time Lomor would return to RMI on its own while Teanoai would remain in Kiribati.
Read more about this in the February 16, 2018 edition of the Marshall Islands Journal.