CANTERBURY! HMNZS - Royal New Zealand Navy

PROJECT PROTECTORMC 07-0226-63MC 07-0 226-67MC 07-0226-35MC 07-0226-90CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The Prime Minister sits with CDREAnson during the ceremony; The Prime Minister presents theofficial ship’s badge to the CO; Chaplain Wayne Toleafoa holds theships symbol of command, a mere, while Kaumatua Bert Mcleanspeaks; To close the ceremonies, CDR Anson, MCC, presented acommemorative coin to all in the ship’s company; here he presentsa coin to SSGT Shane Pretty.THE PRIMEMINISTER’SVIEW:PRIME Minister Helen Clark, as the ship’sLady Sponsor, said it gave her great pleasureto participate in the commissioningceremony.“Today represents a significant milestone forProject Protector, and for the modernisationof New Zealand’s Defence Force. It is alsoanother important opportunity to highlightthe value New Zealand places on its defencelinks with Australia, our natural and mostimportant defence partner.”She explained that a “key component ofthe Government’s vision for the DefenceForce’ is a Navy fleet substantially enhancedby the new Project Protector ships.“Project Protector is not only a Defenceproject - the project fulfils the need for a maritimepatrol force with diverse capabilities.Protector will make an important contributionto the overall security of New Zealand.It will also enhance our ability to provide supportand assistance to our Pacific neighboursin times of natural disaster and civil emer-gency, and to work co-operatively with ourfriends, particularly Australia. The Protectorfleet will demonstrate the efficiencies whichcan be gained from a multi-agency approachto protecting our borders.“The focus today, however, is on CANTER-BURY, and on the major contribution it willmake to the Navy’s capabilities. CANTER-BURY will be a centrepiece of the NZDF’sjoint approach to operations, enabling thethree services to deploy together.“The principal role of CANTERBURY istactical sealift. It will be able to disembarkits cargo of troops and equipment withoutaccess to port facilities. This is a new capabilityfor the Navy. Using this core capability theship will be able to conduct military supportoperations, including humanitarian, peace,and non-combatant evacuation operations.It will greatly improve our ability to respondto natural disasters in the Pacific, and will beable to be used in future deployments likethose we have had in Timor Leste and theSolomon Islands.“Beyond tactical sealift, the full breadthof CANTERBURY’s capabilities is very impressive:• It will conduct a range of offshore patroland response tasks, including reconnaissanceand surveillance patrols, the identificationand interception of targets, and theboarding, inspection, and escort or apprehensionof suspect vessels.• Equipped with its ice-strengthened hull,CANTERBURY will provide a greatly enhancedcapability for patrolling the SouthernOcean, including as a demonstration of NZ’scommitment to the Commission for theConservation and Management of AntarcticMarine Living Resources (CCAMLR).• It will significantly enhance the NZDF’scapacity to make contributions to searchand rescue operations, medical support,maritime pollution control assistance, anddefence aid to civil authorities.• CANTERBURY will also provide a furtherCANTERBURY running trialson Port Philip Bayplatform to conduct generic at sea trainingfor the Navy.• [The new ship] will conduct regional defencediplomacy visits and representationalactivities in NZ and overseas ports. And itwill participate in the Military AssistanceProgramme to offer training and assistanceto Pacific Island and South East Asia countries.• [And CANTERBURY] will be a valuableasset in combined operations with the AustralianDefence Force.“In naming this vessel, I note that CAN-TERBURY will be the second ship to carrythis name in [our] Navy’s history. That it isbeing used again reflects not only the contributionmade to the Navy and New Zealandby the previous CANTERBURY, but also theclose relationship which has developed overmany years between the Navy and the Canterburyregion.I am sure that the people of the Canterburyregion will take pride in being the first NewZealanders to welcome this significant newcapability to port.It is with great pleasure that I now namethis ship, Her Majesty’s New Zealand Ship,CANTERBURY.’Note: This is an edited version of thespeech, which is available in full at :www.beehive.govt.nzCHIEF OFARMY’S VIEWSpeaking to reporters at the Commissioningceremony, MGEN Lou Gardiner said he was‘rapt’ with the new ship. ‘For the Army,it gives us the ability to move equipmentaround to training locations and gives us anability to practise amphibious operations,’he said. ‘We’ve never had that before. We’verelied on our Australian counterparts, usingtheir ships. CANTERBURY’s going to give usa lot of benefits.’THE DISTINGUISHED GUESTSAttending the commissioning were guests representing the ship’s combined Dutch and Australianbuilding heritage and chief executives of many of the firms that provided componentsto our ship. CANTERBURY’s operational future was signified by the attendance of representativesfrom NZ government agencies. In addition, we were privileged to host Dr Brendan Nelson,Australia’s Minister of Defence and VA Shalders, CN of the RAN. MGEN Gardiner representedthe NZ Service Chiefs, while His Worship the Mayor Mr Michael McEvedy, Mayor of Selwyn,represented the local governments of Canterbury province.8 NT123JULY07 WWW.NAVY.MIL.NZWWW.NAVY.MIL.NZNT123JULY07 9