Regarding Release of Court of Inquiry into Loss of RHIB from HMNZS CANTERBURY
21 December 2007
On July 10 2007 the HMNZS Canterbury lost her port RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat) and damaged her starboard RHIB while crossing the Bay of Plenty in a severe storm.
At the time the RHIB was lost, the ship’s log records the weather conditions as being a wind strength of 60 knots, gusting to 73, a swell of six metres (sea state six), and a completely overcast, “very dark night”.
The loss and damage of the RHIBs was caused by large volumes of water entering the ship’s alcoves in which the boats were stowed. These ripped the port RHIB from its alcove and caused structural damage to the starboard RHIB.
The water ingress occurred due to a combination of ship roll, the position of the alcoves relative to the waterline, the wave height and the wave direction.
A Court of Inquiry was assembled to investigate the incident. The Court identified several immediate steps which can be taken to improve the securing arrangements for the RHIBs. However, these will not address the issue of the alcove flooding, which is a result of the ship’s design. The Ministry of Defence and the Contractor have been working on implementing changes to the ship to address the identified shortcomings.
Canterbury is presently programmed to remain in Auckland until the end of January 2008.
Other matters raised by the Court into the performance of the Canterbury will be addressed in the independent review of the acquisition and introduction into service of the ship asked for by Minister of Defence Phil Goff.
ENDS