Post by amitch on Jul 12, 2007 15:52:35 GMT 12
From Stuff
Just as well there were no cars on board!
Seas in 'top ten' when boat lost from Canterbury
By HANNAH HENDERSON - NZPA | Thursday, 12 July 2007
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The commanding officer of the navy's newly commissioned HMNZS Canterbury said the stormy seas in which it lost an auxiliary boat were in the top ten biggest in his 24-year navy career.
One of the ship's two inflatable boats – an 8m Hamilton jet-powered runabout – was lost on Tuesday about 100km off Tauranga.
Commander Tony Millar said the storm was the same one that had wreaked havoc on Northland.
At 1pm the ship had been near East Cape in "quite nice" conditions, but the wind got up quickly and by the evening it was blowing up to 75 knots or 140kph.
"It's in the top ten of my biggest sea waves I've been in, in 24 years in the navy," he said.
It was during this weather that the boat was lost.
"What we expect happened was a rogue wave just came and clobbered it during a roll," Cdr Millar said.
"You don't go out of your way to put yourself in those positions. The essence of it is the weather came to us and the ship went through it quite happily."
Cdr Millar said the loss of the boat was not unexpected.
"You don't want it to happen, but as for `gee where did that come from?', no, there's nothing like that amongst professional mariners," he said.
"We've lost liferafts before, not on this ship, but other ships have lost liferafts and liferings.
"Anything that's connected to the outside of the ship is liable to get hammered," he said.
To make them more secure would mean they could not be used for the safety purpose they were designed.
"You could make them absolutely secure but it means you can't use them."
Cdr Millar said he did not know the value of the missing boat.
"I really don't, unfortunately. I'm given charge of a large ship, two landing craft, two boats, but no, I don't know specific costs."
He confirmed that the air force had looked for the boat but stressed that it had not been launched to do so.
"During a normal mission a P3 (Orion) was asked to have a look at our last known position for it and they couldn't find it ," he said.
"On no account was an aircraft launched to find the boat. . . we would never do that, these are expensive assets and we're very responsible with the taxpayer funds."
Cdr Millar said the weather made it impossible to attempt to retrieve the boat at the time it was lost.
"It would be folly to try to pick it up. The weather conditions were more than atrocious"
Safety of personnel had to come first, he said.
"Without a doubt. It's a piece of steel and a bit of rubber."
The 131-metre, 9000-tonne multi-role ship, built in Holland and commissioned in Melbourne this month, will be based at the Devonport naval base in Auckland.
Just as well there were no cars on board!
Seas in 'top ten' when boat lost from Canterbury
By HANNAH HENDERSON - NZPA | Thursday, 12 July 2007
Email a Friend | Printable View | Have Your Say
Related Links
• Subscribe to Archivestuff
• Have your say
The commanding officer of the navy's newly commissioned HMNZS Canterbury said the stormy seas in which it lost an auxiliary boat were in the top ten biggest in his 24-year navy career.
One of the ship's two inflatable boats – an 8m Hamilton jet-powered runabout – was lost on Tuesday about 100km off Tauranga.
Commander Tony Millar said the storm was the same one that had wreaked havoc on Northland.
At 1pm the ship had been near East Cape in "quite nice" conditions, but the wind got up quickly and by the evening it was blowing up to 75 knots or 140kph.
"It's in the top ten of my biggest sea waves I've been in, in 24 years in the navy," he said.
It was during this weather that the boat was lost.
"What we expect happened was a rogue wave just came and clobbered it during a roll," Cdr Millar said.
"You don't go out of your way to put yourself in those positions. The essence of it is the weather came to us and the ship went through it quite happily."
Cdr Millar said the loss of the boat was not unexpected.
"You don't want it to happen, but as for `gee where did that come from?', no, there's nothing like that amongst professional mariners," he said.
"We've lost liferafts before, not on this ship, but other ships have lost liferafts and liferings.
"Anything that's connected to the outside of the ship is liable to get hammered," he said.
To make them more secure would mean they could not be used for the safety purpose they were designed.
"You could make them absolutely secure but it means you can't use them."
Cdr Millar said he did not know the value of the missing boat.
"I really don't, unfortunately. I'm given charge of a large ship, two landing craft, two boats, but no, I don't know specific costs."
He confirmed that the air force had looked for the boat but stressed that it had not been launched to do so.
"During a normal mission a P3 (Orion) was asked to have a look at our last known position for it and they couldn't find it ," he said.
"On no account was an aircraft launched to find the boat. . . we would never do that, these are expensive assets and we're very responsible with the taxpayer funds."
Cdr Millar said the weather made it impossible to attempt to retrieve the boat at the time it was lost.
"It would be folly to try to pick it up. The weather conditions were more than atrocious"
Safety of personnel had to come first, he said.
"Without a doubt. It's a piece of steel and a bit of rubber."
The 131-metre, 9000-tonne multi-role ship, built in Holland and commissioned in Melbourne this month, will be based at the Devonport naval base in Auckland.
