CANTERBURY! HMNZS - Royal New Zealand Navy

OP CUTLASSFrom 21-27 May ourdeployed task groupconducted exerciseswith the Indian Navyand made a visit toPort Blair in India’sAndaman IslandsNZ TASK GROUPIN SE ASIATE KAHA ENDEAVOUR and INS MYSOREAn IN Sea King lands on TE MANAHMNZS TE MANAAFTER three regional and international exercises,TE MANA sailed for the first in a administrative centre for the South EastBlair harbour entrance) described as the oldseries of defence diplomacy visits. Saying Asian region of the British Empire. Once afarewell to Singapore, we sailed through the beautiful, built-up community, this island fellMalacca Straits and rendezvoused with an into disrepair after an earthquake in 1941.Indian Navy Task Group for exercises on our After seeing most buildings damaged orway to the Andaman Islands. Representing destroyed and Ross Island apparently ‘sinking’– and then from December 1941 thethe IN were the destroyer INS MYSORE andthe missile corvette INS KUTHAR [see Tech threat from the fast-approaching Japanese,Specs box].the occupying British residents left, takingOver three days, all ships cross-decked personnelin order to: share experiences, learn area. The Andaman Islands were occupiedboth their money and influence from thea little bit more about our fellow mariners by the Japanese until 1945.and, build links with another rapidly expandingnavy. It is interesting to note the similarattitudes that both navies share in regardsto developing new platforms and practices- an exciting time for both the RNZN and theIN. As well, TE MANA conducted ReplenishmentsAt Sea, helicopter operations, communicationsexercises and frequent Officerof the Watch manoeuvres (OOWMANS).During the RAS, we got the chance to seeMYSORE up close - with her size beingevident (25m longer than ENDEAVOUR, thelongest ship of our fleet).We all arrived alongside in Port Blair, thecapital of the Andaman Islands halfway betweenthe Malay Peninsula and the Indianmainland. The Andaman Islands have a colourfulhistory with Ross Island (at theRoss Island, the entry to Port BlairPortAfter WWII the British did not return; insteadIndia gained independence in 1947.Ross Island however did continue to servethe residents of Port Blair - the most recentexample is that the island bore the brunt ofthe 26 December 2004 Tsunami, saving thetownship from being devastated.TE MANA left Port Blair for a quick passageacross the Andaman Sea to the Malaysianresort island of Pulau Langkawi. A numberof Ships’ Company used this opportunity tospend some time at one of the many resortsor hotels that the island offers.After another passage through the MalaccaStraits, the ship made its last South EastAsian visit to Kota Kinabalu on the northernshore of Borneo. The capital of the Sabahprovince is renowned as being the gatewayto some of the most beautiful parts ofMalaysia. A number of our Ships’ Companytook the time to climb Mt Kinabalu or raftdown grade four rapids, whilst most of usalso got to watch the fifth and final race ofthe Louis Vuiton Cup, cheering on our fellowKiwi mariners to victory.After leaving Malaysia, TE MANA madeher way south to Cairns via the Great BarrierReef, to undertake a NATO Sea Sparrow missilefiring and the PWO sea week in the EastAustralian Exercise Areas, before returninghome on 17 July.During the exercise with the Indian Navy our ships embarked twoIN communicators each, who came on board to man the DigitalCommunications Terminal (DCT) supplied by the IN to ENDEAVOURand TE MANA for Exercise KIWINDIA. The Indian Navy use the DCT,consisting of a “ruggedised” PC and printer connecting to one ofthe ship’s VHF radios for tactical bridge to bridge communication.ENDEAVOUR’s two IN communicators describe their time on board.EXERCISE KIWINDIA MAY 2007BY LRO A K NAIR AND RO1 (ACO) VIJAY KIRUBAKARANENDEAVOUR’s communications team: (back row, l to r) LRO Nair IN, ACO O’Neill, LCOKiwkiwi; (front row, l to r) ACO Hobson, RO1 Kirubakaran IN & POYS WiringiIT has been a great pleasure to work in yourship for the duration of EXERCISE KIWINDIA07. Our five day stay was made good by allof ENDEAVOUR’s family. All the work whichwas done during the exercise was done inthe way it should be, in that not only was itby the book, but also with a lot of mind andheart. You (the RNZN) always work as a teamand that is why you succeed in sports (as youdid so well in Singapore).My Department - CommunicationsStarting from the divisional officer rightthrough to the operators everybody helpedus a lot. We would like to add the name ofeveryone in the department, as well as thePOET for being so helpful, and for helpingus install our equipment. We learned a lotof lessons from POYS Wiringi, LCO Kiwikiwi,ACO O’Neill, ACO Hobson and OCO Waiari.Working with them has been great.Bridge OrganisationAs we spent most of our time on the bridgewe know it better than the other work places.We found that it was a hot bridge manned bypersonnel with cool heads which is a greatplus for operations in ENDEAVOUR. Startingfrom the Commanding Officer right down tothe Quartermaster there was no confusion,no unwanted noise, and no signs of tensionin anyone. Even the trainee Officers weresmart in their actions which made the exercisemore meaningful and great for us.Food onboardMany thanks to the galley staff for the great10 NT123JULY07 WWW.NAVY.MIL.NZWWW.NAVY.MIL.NZNT123JULY07 11