HMNZS CANTERBURY works up

HMNZS CANTERBURY opens fire using blank ammunition on a fast-moving target.

It’s all part of CANTERBURY’s ‘workup’ in the Hauraki Gulf last month, a rigorous three-week honing of seamanship and operational skills for the entire crew, all under the eye of the Maritime Operations Evaluation Team (MOET). They put the Ship’s Company through its paces, in drills involving warfare, core mariner skills, damage control, aviation, survivability, and C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance).

The team sets a fictitious scenario for the ship. In this instance, CANTERBURY was in the vicinity of a Pacific Island with cyclone-related issues and a law and order problem, meaning some locals were unhappy about the presence of a Navy vessel. In assuming a Force Protection mode, the ship has to protect itself. Standard procedure for an approaching vessel includes five short blasts on the horn, then firing of flares. It progresses to shots fired across the bow.

CANTERBURY, in achieving her Directed Level of Capability (DLOC), proceeded to Tokelau this month to deliver a cargo-hold full of infrastructure materials, including solar panels and water tanks. We’ll cover that mission in our December issue.