The Falkland Islands Government is preparing a very fond farewell to FPV Protegat, her crew and all at Galfishing Ltd following the completion of their contract to provide the fishery patrol vessel for the Falkland Islands. Precisely this month the state of the art FPV Lilibet, after a long trip from Vietnam, where she was built, has taken over the patrolling tasks in the Islands EEZ.
On Wednesday 26 April the brand new Fishery Patrol Vessel, FPV Lilibet was formally handed over to the Falkland Islands Government and will assume her duties on Monday 1 May 2023.
The new Fishery Patrol Vessel, FPV Lilibet is due to arrive into Port William over the coming weekend. Her arrival has been delayed due to the Captain making the decision to assist a vessel in need during a storm. FPV Lilibet was stood down by the regional MRCC once a Taiwanese vessel confirmed that they could reach the vessel earlier than FPV Lilibet.
Fisheries authorities in the Falkland Islands have said that 2022 was a bumper year for the squid and hake fishing fleets licenced by the territory. Sixteen ships caught a remarkable 101,166 tonnes of loligo squid; a catch that was exceeded only in 1989 when 118,120 tonnes were landed, although that record catch was achieved by almost three times as many ships.
The Falkland Islands Government's new Fishery Patrol Vessel (FPV) provided under a 15-year contract by Seagull Maritime Limited, beginning in 2023, finally has a name, “Lilibet”. The name was put forward by schoolchild Aimee Walker following an open competition at both Falkland Islands Schools in May.