The old workhorse of the Fiji Naval Squadron RFNS Kiro was yesterday decommissioned at the Naval Base in Walu Bay. 

This is the first paragraph of the Fiji newspaper article dated 10 FEB 1995.  The vessel was a former US Coastal minesweeper (USS Warbler MSC-206) before being commission as HMSF Kiro that arrived from Seattle in 1975.

The Warbler served almost 40 years of service for two Navy's,  Twenty Years as a man of war for the United States, then twenty more for the Fiji Navy.  She served us proud, all of us brothers of this fine ship.

Navy personnel set ship on fire outside Suva passage

The RFNS Kiro  was being towed to Suva Harbor when the tow rope snapped and the decommissioned naval vessel drifted onto the reef.  The wood was rotten and needed to be burnt before the sinking of the ship.  Otherwise it would float and become a navigational hazard.

The ship had been sitting in the harbor for a long time and was becoming an environmental hazard in the surrounding marine area and to the other shipping companies.  

The following is a reading of the memo above.

DISPOSAL OF RFNS KIRO (MSC 206)  Dated 20 Sept 1996

1.  The decommissioned RFNS KIRO (MSC 206) was disposed be being set on fire at position Lat 18 Deg 09.6 Min. South.  Long 178 Deg 21.58 Min. East. Ref A is the authority from Headquarters Fiji Navy for the disposal.

2.  The designated position for disposal was 19 deg 30 min South, 177 deg 00 min East however, the unfavorable weather and the very poor material condition of the KIRO prevented our attempt to tow the vessel.  The poor condition of the vessel was such that the mast broke and fell into the sea just as we were exiting the Suva Harbour channel.  Later on, the towing pad eye on the KIRO was ripped off the deck due to the decks rotten state.  At this stage the KIRO was left to drift onto the reef and wrecked at position mentioned in para 1.  The ship immediately broke in two as she hit the reef.

3.  The ship was later doused with diesel and set on fire.  She burned continuously for 19 hours and the pieces left on the reef now are the ships engines and a very lower part of the hull that is covered at high tide.

4.  In hindsight,. the disposal method mentioned above, even though hatched out of the circumstances that prevailed at that time, was probably the safest.  The material condition of KIRO was much worse than we initially assessed.

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