1 April 2007
By ENS MCQUAID, RNZN
On 22 January 2007 CANTERBURY sailed from the TENIX Williamstown ship yard in Melbourne for four days of contractor sea trials. For many of the newer members of the ships’ company, including myself, this would be our first time at sea on this colossal new ship.
Upon leaving Melbourne, TENIX and the Ministry of Defence team set out to test that CANTERBURY could provide the capabilities required by the Contract.
Under Project Protector, CANTERBURY’s primary role will be to provide the New Zealand Defence Force with tactical sealift capability to enable the transfer of personnel, equipment and stores into a theatre of operations and thence from the ship to shore.
CANTERBURY’s many systems and components provide sealift capability to the NZDF, such as the vehicle deck, stern and side ramps, 60-tonne cranes, landing craft, large hangar and flight deck, and container size cargo hatches.
Embarked Forces Facilities
CANTERBURY has the capability to accommodate 363 personnel. There are 252 bunks set aside for embarked forces, and 111 bunks to accommodate 53 navy, 7 ship’s army load team, 10 air force flight maintainers, 36 trainees, 1 flag rank officer or VIP and 4 other government agency officers.
The embarked forces have their own galley, dining area and recreation spaces. There is also a hospital capable of taking five patients. It has an operating theatre, pre and post-op care, and a sickbay for the day to day needs of the permanent ships company.
Ship to Shore Manoeuvre
To move embarked forces ashore, CANTERBURY has four options
- Berthing at a wharf and unloading through the stern and/or side ramps
- Helicopter transfer
- Landing craft utilising the crane and stern door
- Seaboat (RHIB).
The preferred option is to berth at a wharf so vehicles can drive on and off using the stern door and side vehicle ramps. This option provides for ease of operation, however in many situations a Port may be unavailable or inappropriate for the mission.
Helicopter transfer of equipment and personnel is also a viable option onboard. CANTERBURY has a hangar capable of storing four of the NZDF’s new NH90 helicopters and a separate hanger for the SH-2G Super Seasprite while the flight deck is capable of taking up to a Chinook size helicopter therefore providing a high level of interoperability with the Australian Defence Force.
CANTERBURY is equipped with two Landing Craft-Medium (LCM) which are stored on 01 deck just forward of the flight deck. Each LCM weighs 58 tonnes and is capable of carrying 50 tonnes of stores and/or vehicles. The process of transporting equipment ashore by LCM is very simple in principle.
CANTERBURY has two new 7.3 metre self-righting GEMINI RHIBS. These can carry 8 personnel with boarding equipment and fuel with a top speed of 35+ knots. The power plant is a 300hp Yanmar diesel engine and is controlled by a Deon water jet allowing for shallow water operations. They also have an impressive endurance of 133nm at 20 knots. In addition to their primary function of boarding and life saving, the RHIBS will be an effective way of transporting small amounts of equipment and personnel into areas that the LCM’s and helicopters can’t reach.
A key component of the ship’s capability are the two 60 tonne self tensioning cranes located just forward of the flight deck. These cranes are capable of lifting a LAV (Light Armoured Vehicle) through one of the two flush hatches located on the flight deck. The onboard cranes, mean that we can use ports that don’t have cranes on the wharf.
In addition to all the sealift capabilities CANTERBURY is a very versatile ship in terms of military shipping. She has seven engineering mode configurations giving a top speed of 21 knots.
CANTERBURY is equipped with a 25mm Bushmaster Cannon located on the fo’csle. This is a versatile weapon controlled and fired from the bridge. Firing up to 200 rounds per minute, this weapon will give CANTERBURY a flexible weapon especially when conducting EEZ patrols, which will be a major operational requirement of all Protector vessels. There are two operations planning rooms allowing for effective operational planning and coordination.
CANTERBURY’s sea trials were a learning experience enjoyed by all. In particular, the main capability of the MRV, the Ship to Shore Transfer System (SSTS), was demonstrated.
This included the transfer of a 20 tonne vehicle from the MRV to the LCM in conditions approaching sea state 2. This was an impressive evolution given that it was undertaken in rougher conditions than was initially intended and by a Tenix LCM coxswain with less than two weeks experience of operating our LCMs. This bodes well for the development of the full SSTS capability once the ship enters RNZN service.
Overall, a very successful four days at sea on CANTERBURY, proving she is well on the way to being one of the most versatile and robust ships in the RNZN.
Ends
NB. This item was edited by Gary Collier, Project Director, Project Protector.