New Zealand Air Force completes two-week patrol in Vanuatu, focusing on "dark ships" and illegal fishing
The Royal New Zealand Air Force disclosed on October 20 that its MC-12K King Air aircraft has completed a two-week maritime surveillance and reconnaissance patrol in Vanuatu's jurisdictional waters. Personnel from the Vanuatu Police Maritime Unit, the Fisheries Office and the Transnational Crime Unit embarked on the aircraft on a ride-along basis, with the focus on "dark ships" that deliberately switch off their tracking and identification systems.
Port Vila news: The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) has completed a two-week maritime surveillance and reconnaissance patrol operation in Vanuatu's jurisdictional waters, carried out in close coordination with Vanuatu local agencies and the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA). According to information released on October 20, 2026, the mission was flown by an MC-12K King Air aircraft from No. 42 Squadron, temporarily based in Port Vila.
During the flights, law enforcement personnel from the Vanuatu Police Maritime Unit, the Vanuatu Fisheries Office and the Vanuatu Transnational Crime Unit embarked on the aircraft on a ride-along basis. The surveillance focused on "dark ships" — vessels that deliberately do not activate tracking or identification systems in order to evade fisheries enforcement and transnational crime controls.
The deployment recorded the activity of multiple fishing vessels and recreational vessels, and the relevant records will be used for follow-up regulatory investigations.
At the request of the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office (VNDMO), the crew also collected the latest imagery of the volcanoes on Ambrym Island and Ambae Island, confirming eruptive and geothermal activity in the active craters of both volcanoes.
Separately, according to the General Administration of Customs import and export statistics for December 2025, under the customs commodity classification (HS 03036700 frozen Alaska pollock, 03047500 frozen Alaska pollock fillets, 03049400 frozen Alaska pollock meat), New Zealand's exports of Alaska pollock to China in December 2025 amounted to 1.604 tonnes, with an export value of USD 4,902.0 and an average export price of USD 3,056.11 per tonne.