HMNZS Canterbury Welcome Ceremony - 28th June

[Dave Homewood]

From the NZDF website, the schedule of what's happening next week when the HMNZS Canterbury arrives at its home port of Lyttleton, Canterbury.

Perhaps some of you might like to get along and get some photos of this brilliant new ship and its crew.

Media Advisory
20 June 2007

HMNZS CANTERBURY, the Navy’s newest ship, will have her homecoming into New Zealand next week when she sails into Lyttelton Harbour on 28 June.

The event schedule for the Lyttelton homecoming is:

Thurs 28 June
1200 Arrive Berth No 2 Wharf Lyttelton
O/C Welcome Ceremony on wharf adjacent ship
1430 Children from the ships' charity (Cholmondeley Children's Home) entertained on board

Fri 29 June
0800 to 1400 Organised Tours Selected Groups
1030 Visit to ship by members of Canterbury NPC team

Sat 30 June
1400 – 1445 Charter Parade Cathedral Square

Sun 01 July
1000 to 1200 Organised Tours Selected Groups
1300 to 1630 Ship Open to General Public (Navy Band, Seasprite, LAV, Pinzgauer on wharf)

Mon 02 July - 1400
CANTERBURY sails to Timaru

Defence Minister Phil Goff will be at the homecoming, and will be available for media interviews.

HMNZS CANTERBURY’s formal handover occurred on 31 May, and she was commissioned into service on 12 June in Melbourne.

Media interviews and tours will be available - please register interest with Kirsty Clokie, Navy Assistant Public Relations Manager, on 021 745 288 or [e-mail]

ENDS

Background

The Multi-Role Vessel CANTERBURY is the first of seven new ships built for the Royal New Zealand Navy under Project Protector. She is affiliated to the Canterbury Region. She was built at the Merwede Shipyard in the Netherlands, under contract to Tenix. CANTERBURY’s design is based on a commercial RO-RO ship, Ben-My-Chree in operation in the Irish Sea.
CANTERBURY will have diesel-electric propulsion and a maximum speed of just over 19 knots. She will provide a sealift capability for the transport and deployment of equipment, vehicles and personnel, and capable of transferring cargo and personnel ashore in benign conditions (up to sea state 3) when port facilities are not available. CANTERBURY has two 59 tonne Landing Craft Medium (LCM) capable of carrying 50 tonnes at 9 knots with a range of 250 nm. www.navy.mil.nz/visit-the-fleet/project-protector/default.htm

Particulars of CANTERBURY
Displacement: 9000 tonnes
Length overall: 131 metres
Beam: 23.4 metres
Speed: 19 knots

Complement: Core ship's company: 53
Flight personnel: 10
Government agencies: 4
Army ship's staff: 7
Trainees: 35
Troops: 250
Total: 360

Propulsion: Diesel engines
Flight deck: Space for two helicopters

Armament: 25mm and two .50 calibre machine guns

Helicopter capability
The NH90 Helicopter has been selected as the NZDF’s preferred medium Utility Helicopter to replace RNZAF’S Iroquois. Up to four NH90’s can be carried onboard the MRV for deployment ashore in support of Army operations and disaster relief activities. The MRV is also capable of operating the SH-2G Seasprite and the helicopter deck is able to handle a Chinook-size helicopter.

[beagle]

I'll be there Dave so will get some images, maybe get to go on a tour of it, not sure if we are permitted cameras on board, but probably, except for down in the command centre and the nuclear core area

[Dave Homewood]

And the holodeck!

[30sqnatc]

Or the captains sauna - oh sorry probably called the ships drying room or something similar in the requirements list

[Dave Homewood]

I recall in the Sharks of Steel doco series years ago people were amazed to see that the big Russian nuclear submarine, that one that all the people died on a few years back, had a spa pool for the sailors.

[flyjoe180]

The submarine was the Kursk? Time to Die is a good read if you get the chance, very sad though.

[Dave Homewood]

Yes, the Kursk, that's the one.

[Dave Homewood]

Hmm, a dubious start. Canterbury didn't even get out past Port Phillip Heads near Melbourne before it had to stop with a bung engine. I hope it's still under warrantee. I don't know if this will put the above schedule back.

[Dave Homewood]

Teletext now reports that the "Frigate" Canterbury is "back at full steam".

So, it's now a steam-driven frigate?

Where does TVNZ get these idiots who write their copy?

[Dave Homewood]

OK, same place as the NZPA gets them it seems. I don't know much about bots, but this new HMNZS Canterbury is not a frigate, is it?

www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10447605

Minor problem with new frigate fixed - Navy
11:00AM Sunday June 24, 2007

The Navy has confirmed its new frigate HMNZS Canterbury experienced "a minor mechanical defect" in an engine which prevented it leaving Melbourne on schedule.

The crew had managed to fix the problem and the ship was sailing towards Lyttelton.

"There are always niggles with any ship, no matter what its age," Commodore David Anson, maritime component commander, told the Sunday Star-Times.

Cdre Anson said the problem was a relatively small matter but it was considered prudent to fix it in the calmer waters of Port Philip Bay.

But National's defence spokesman Wayne Mapp said he would ask questions in parliament about what exactly went wrong aboard the Canterbury.

The Canterbury is the first of seven ships being constructed under a $500 million initiative designed to enhance the operational capability of the navy and was commissioned by Prime Minister Helen Clark in Melbourne on June 12.

- NZPA

[FlyNavy]

Online Dictionary definition of a frigate:
Warship, usually of 4,000 to 9,000 displacement tons, that is larger than a destroyer and smaller than a cruiser, used primarily for escort duty.

It is a stretch to begin to imagine that the CANTERBURY is a frigate. More likely a frigate will escort the CANTERBURY than vice versa.

The Australian Media regularly misreport simple military terms and like to confuse the Navy, Army, Air Force for one another - just to be fair - to the ADF I guess.

[30sqnatc]

Certainly hope she is going to have a better track record than the then new Interislander ferry Aratere. She kept the TAIC busy for the first couple of years of her service with a whole series of incidents.

[amitch]

Does anyone know if the Canterbury is still on time and or a way to find out when it will arrive at the heads?

[Dave Homewood]

The Navy's own website still has the same schedule listed, so I guess it has made up time lost?
www.navy.mil.nz/

I guess you could ring the Lyttleton Harbour Board and see if they know of any changes. Or your local Navy base, HMNZS Pegasus isn't it?