KEY POINTS:
HMNZS Canterbury, the first and biggest of the Navy's Protector fleet vessels, arrived at noon yesterday in Lyttelton, gateway to its namesake province.
The 131m, 9000-tonne multi-role ship, built in Holland and commissioned in Melbourne, will be based at the Devonport naval base.
The six other ships in the Government's $500 million Protector programme - two 85m offshore patrol vessels and four 55m inshore patrol craft - are expected in New Zealand in the next 12 months.
Defence Minister Phil Goff welcomed the Canterbury to Lyttelton.
He said the new vessel was a "symbol of the future" - for both a versatile Navy with a broad range of capabilities and the Government's approach to New Zealand's security "as a multi-agency process".
The ship represented an "impressive new capability".
"When her 53 crew are joined by 250 soldiers, 10 Air Force flight crew, light armoured vehicles, containers, up to four of the new NH90 helicopters and a Seasprite helicopter, the Canterbury will embody the Defence Force's joint approach to operations."
Its main "tactical sealift" role would allow New Zealand greater flexibility in responding to military deployments and to requests for civil and disaster relief in New Zealand and the wider region.
Its strengthened hull would also enable it to patrol the Southern Ocean.
The last ship linked by name to the province was the steam turbine-driven Leander class frigate now at the Northland port of Opua being readied to be sunk as a dive attraction.
Tomorrow the company of the Canterbury will be given the freedom of Christchurch after a parade through city streets.
The Canterbury will be open to the public on Sunday, before it sails to Timaru for a visit on Monday and then to Devonport for trials with the Army and the Air Force.
- NZPA
