Parihaka

Canterbury off to work at once
5:00AM Wednesday June 13, 2007
By Greg Ansley

MELBOURNE - Sitting on the bridge of HMNZS Canterbury, high above Port Melbourne's Station Pier, Prime Minister Helen Clark clutched the controls of the Navy's newest ship and grinned: "It's like being behind the wheel of the biggest long-haulage rig ever."

For the Defence Force, that is exactly what the $130 million, 9000-tonne Canterbury is.

Its holds can carry five helicopters, 40 light armoured vehicles, 250 troops and 33 containers, allowing New Zealand to take its own forces on major deployments and conduct amphibious operations for the first time.

The Canterbury has already been at work. On its way from the builders' yard in the Netherlands, it carried modules for the Navy's new frigate-sized offshore patrol vessels, welded to the deck for delivery to Melbourne's Tenix Defence shipyard.

When the Canterbury leaves Port Melbourne after yesterday's commissioning service, it will make courtesy calls at Lyttelton and Timaru, conduct more trials and sea-lift exercises with the Army and head to New Zealand's subantarctic waters with Conservation Department officers.

"We wouldn't have it any other way," said the captain, Commander Tony Millar. "It cost New Zealand money, so we're going to get working it."

The ceremony included the Canterbury in the Navy's fleet, ahead of the two offshore and four inshore patrol vessels being built under the $500 million Project Protector programme.

The two larger patrol ships, Otago and Wellington, were moored at the Tenix yard on the other side of Port Melbourne as the PM named the Canterbury and was piped aboard.

Earlier, the ship had been blessed by principal Navy chaplain Wayne Toleafoa and presented with its command symbol, a greenstone mere, by Navy kaumatua Bert McLean.

By far the biggest ship in the Navy, the Canterbury will have a heavy workload, patrolling the nation's territorial waters - including, with its ice-strengthened hull, the Southern Ocean - and carrying out training, search and rescue, diplomatic, medical and other missions throughout the region.

But its main role will be tactical sealift, enabling the three military services to deploy together and to respond to crises such as evacuations and natural disasters.

And the Canterbury will be welcomed by Australia because it allows New Zealand to deploy troops and equipment itself as well as share more fully in regional operations.

"Australia is our closest defence partner and I'm sure they'll welcome the capability," Helen Clark said.

Army chief Major-General Lou Gardiner said he was "rapt" with the new boat.

"For the Army, it gives us the ability to move equipment around to training locations and gives us an ability to practise amphibious operations," he said.

"We've never had that before. We've relied on our Australian counterparts, using their ships.

"Canterbury's going to give us a lot of benefits."


HMNZS Canterbury

* Displacement: 9000 tonnes.
* Speed: 19 knots.
* Length: 131m.
* Complement: 53 Navy crew, 35 trainees, 10 Air Force, 7 Army, 4 govt agencies, up to 250 soldiers.
* Commissioned: June 12, 2007.
* Armament: 25mm naval gun, two .50 calibre machineguns.
* Capability: Storage for up to four UH90 Air Force helicopters, 40 LAVIIIs, one operational Seasprite. Two landing craft launched by 59-tonne cranes, stern ramp, two side ramps, rigid-hulled inflatables.

__________________
In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Wraith601

It looks like a pretty solid design, gives NZ the ability to deploy a battalion
(-) overseas with minimal trouble.

Are they still only buying two?

__________________
"We always have been, we are, and I hope that we always shall be, detested in France."
-Sir Arthur Wellesley

Parihaka

Just the one MRV, two new offshore patrol vessels similar in size to the two ANZAC class frigates but much more versatile, and several inshore patrol vessels.

Wraith601

One's nice, three'd be better. Then you can sustain one at sea pretty much all the time.

What's your opinion on the suitability of the LCS for NZ?

Parihaka

Don't know enough about it for me to hold an opinion

Wraith601

This site has all the information you'd ever want, and then some more.

Feydakin

hello fellow kiwi that sounds very imressive stats i don't come on this site that much but always love reading your post about home i live in aussi but love reading up on anything about defence being a previous "Aussi Chocko "
your informative opinions keep me in contact with the NZDF gee the last time i remeber NZ navy they still had the leader class frigates going along time ago good to see they are keeping a realistic approachto NZdefence force

Parihaka

Hey matey, thanks for the comments Bad luck about having to live in Aus, but you can't have everything I suppose
The last of the Leanders, the old Canterbury

is about to be sunk as a dive attraction in the Bay of Plenty.

crooks

Sounds very versatile, genuinely useful for giving NZ a bit of a stretch beyond borders without joint-ops with Oz (though I imagine it will play a part there as well).

What will the RNZN be using it for or have any specifics been annouced?

Jay

So when does the invasion start?

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A grain of wheat eclipsed the sun of Adam !!

JodiSP

Well relationships between Fiji and NZ and probably at there lowest for 20 or more years, Fiji have even sent home the NZ's government representative to Fiji, so you never know.

Parihaka

Antarctica, southern ocean backup for the new off-shores and force projection into the Pacific. Timor Leste, the Solomons as examples and of course disaster relief. It'll be VERY busy, and frees up Aus somewhat on the larger stage while we look after the back yard.

Parihaka

Doubt it but having the potential is a useful bargaining chip.

crooks

Very interesting indeed, and ideal for the Irish navy, I believe the Naval service are using this ship as an example to the government for what we should be ordering when two of our ships go down in the next ten years.

Not a bad price either, for the capability it provides.