HMNZS Monowai (A06)
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2016) |
History | |
---|---|
New Zealand | |
Namesake | Lake Monowai |
Builder | Grangemouth Dockyard |
Laid down | 1960 |
Acquired | 1975 |
Commissioned | 1977 |
Decommissioned | 1997 |
Identification | IMO number: 5237969 |
Nickname(s) | Ghost of the Coast |
Fate | Scrapped in 2002 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Hydrographic survey vessel |
Displacement | 3,900 tons full load |
Length |
|
Beam | 14.1 metres (46 ft) |
Draught | 5.2 metres (17 ft) |
Propulsion | 2 x 7-cylinder two-stroke TAD 36 Clark Sulzer diesels, 3,640 hp (2,694 kW) with CP propellers |
Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
Complement | 126 |
Armament | 2 × 20 mm Oerlikons (fitted 1980) |
Aircraft carried | 1 Wasp helicopter (from 1982) |
HMNZS Monowai (A06) was a hydrographic survey vessel of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). Built in 1960, the ship was originally used as a civilian supply and passenger vessel by the New Zealand Government, under the name GMV Moana Roa, before being acquired by the RNZN in 1974. She was commissioned into the RNZN in 1975 for the voyage to Scotland for conversion and commissioned into the RNZN in October 1977. She remained in RNZN service until April 1998, performing various duties such as coastal surveying, resupply, and surveillance. After being decommissioned she was sold to civilian operators in Britain in 1998 for conversion to a cruise ship, but was found unsuitable for the role and eventually sent to Spanish shipbreakers in 2002.
Construction and design
The ship was laid down by
Operational history
After being completed, the vessel spent the first part of her operational life as the New Zealand Government Island supply/passenger vessel GMV Moana Roa.
During her naval service she was known as the "Ghost of the Coast",[2] as she quietly remapped most of the New Zealand coastline including the Chatham, Campbell, and Auckland Islands, as well as the many sub-Antarctic islands in New Zealand's responsibility.[citation needed] She also acted as a resupply vessel carrying stores and equipment to Campbell and other sub-Antarctic islands and served as an "official residence" for VIPs and dignitaries at Pacific Island conferences.[citation needed]
Other tasks included monitoring Chinese missile splashdown tests, responding to the 1987 Fijian coups d'état to assist in the evacuation of New Zealand citizens,[3] participating in the ANZCAN cable route survey,[2] and assisting in international searches for sea mounts and shoals.[citation needed] She carried a helicopter and undertook rescue or aid missions, saving the lives of eight people during the New Zealand to Tonga Yacht Regatta.[2]
Decommissioning and fate
Monowai was replaced in 1998 by
See also
References
- ^ "GMV Moana Roa". Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ a b c d e ""Ghost of the Coast" Decommissioned". New Zealand Branch of the Australasian Hydrographic Society. 1997. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ Grant J. Crowley (2002). New Zealand's Response to the Aircraft Hijack Incident During the 1987 coup d'état in Fiji: A study of Civil-Military Relations in Crisis (MA). Massey University.
- McDougall, R J (1989) New Zealand Naval Vessels. Page 120-121. Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-477-01399-4