Author: Pandy Fruean
HMNZS TAUPO P3570
The RNZN in the early 1970s sought a replacement patrol craft for the slow and inadequate SDMLs which were of the Second World War era. These craft would be used for fisheries patrols and surveillance of territorial waters which in 1975 was a 12-mile [19km] zone. They were not designed for patrolling the 200 mile [322km] EEZ that was declared from 1 October 1977. This was left to the RNZAF Orion a...
CONTAINERS LOST
New details have emerged about the loss of containers overboard from the ONE Apus earlier this week that suggest it could be the largest single container loss since the sinking of the MOL Comfort in 2013. ONE released a situation report that notified that 1,900 boxes or more could have been lost on Monday night when the vessel hit heavy weather in the Pacific. “The vessel was on passage from Yanti...
USS BONHOMME RICHARD TO BE SCRAPPED
The U.S. Navy has decided to scrap the fire-ravaged amphib USS Bonhomme Richard, weighing the extent of the damage and cost of repairs against the practical alternative of building a new ship. The Bonhomme Richard, sustained a fire in a lower hold on July 12 as she sat at a pier in San Diego. Winds off the bay and the location of the fire near ventilation shafts promoted the spread of the blaze, a...
HMNZS TE KAHA DUE HOME FOR XMAS
The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN)’s frigate HMNZS Te Kaha is under-going sea trials in Canada following a mid-life upgrade. It is the first of two Anzac-class frigates set to receive the Frigate Systems Upgrade (FSU) at Seaspan shipyards with Lockheed Martin Canada acting as prime contractor. The Frigate Systems Upgrade (FSU) project is upgrading the frigates’ surveillance, combat and self-d...
MEMORIAL SERVICE – 79TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SINKING OF HMS NEPTUNE
NOTE! NEW TIME 1030, Sunday 20 December 2020 St Christopher’s Chapel, Devonport Naval Base. Rig: 1BW (negative swords) On 19 December 1941, HMS NEPTUNE sunk after hitting a mine off the coast of Tripoli in the Mediterranean. All but one of the 764 personnel aboard lost their lives. Amongst the crew were 150 New Zealanders, many of whom were reservists. This event represents the largest loss ...
Navy vessel popular attraction
Eastland Port had a new star attraction on Saturday, with HMNZS Manawanui open to the public. The Royal New Zealand Navy vessel was on her first visit to her home port of Gisborne, where a ceremonial ‘charter parade’ on Friday celebrated the connection. The ship provides the ability for diving and hydrographic specialists to embark and conduct specialised operations such as surveying of lake...
U.S. Navy Accelerates Uptake of 3-D Printing for Spare Parts
The U.S. Navy and Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) are exploring additive manufacturing (AM) technologies to design, print, approve, and install critical or obsolete parts – establishing a process and exercising component development on vessels even after undocking. To jumpstart this effort, a NAVSEA team led by Engineering Duty Officers Lieutenant Commander David P. Johnsen and Lieutenant Comma...
Navy Won’t Repair Fire-Damaged Warship, Saying It Would Cost Billions
A U.S. Navy warship that was engulfed by a fire in July while docked in San Diego will be decommissioned instead of rebuilt, the Pentagon said Monday, deciding to forgo a repair project that could have surpassed $3 billion. The ship, the U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard, will be dismantled and some of its spare parts will be used in other naval vessels, officials said. Read more from the New York Times her...
EX HMNZS KUPARU – HAULOUT
Scott Perry, owner of Kuparu, has been putting in the ‘hard yards’ doing much needed restoration work on Kuparu. She is currently hauled out at Marsden Cove, Whangarei, Scott found some worm in the keel which had to be attended to and this has extended the time on the hard. She is due to go back in the water next week. The good news is that her hull will be black, the way most of us remember...