Fish poachers' patrol may stay in Antarctic

An Air Force team could be stationed at Scott Base each summer as New Zealand gets tough on fish poachers plundering Antarctic waters.

Surveillance of illegal fishing boats in the Southern Ocean and the Ross Sea has been done by long-range Orion aircraft flying from Dunedin.

But Antarctica New Zealand operations manager Julian Tangaere told the annual Antarctic conference in Christchurch this week that an Orion crew will fly to the ice runway in McMurdo Sound this spring to assess basing themselves there each summer.

"They're going to do additional surveillance there to pick up unauthorised fishing," he said.

"They'll use an Orion and they want to base it out of McMurdo and not from out of New Zealand, because it gives them a bit longer to patrol."

The Orion would go to Antarctica in November for a test flight.

Basing the aircraft at Scott Base would have some significant implications, said Mr Tangaere

"It has a crew of 18 and obviously they need somewhere to stay."

The Orion could also be used to assist research teams on the ice.

"It's also extremely capable in doing search-and-rescue and medevacs," Mr Tangaere said.

The Air Force will also assess using a modified Boeing 757 to take people and cargo to and from Antarctica as part of New Zealand's share of the joint logistics pool with the United States and Italian Antarctic programmes.

Antarctica New Zealand is facing a shortfall of capacity because the Air Force's rebuild of its ageing Hercules fleet over the next few summers means it can only provide 12 of the 15 flights New Zealand contributes.

Mr Tangaere said the 757 aircraft was faster and could carry more than a Hercules.

"That's why we're very keen to introduce this. It's a very capable aircraft," he said.

"Unfortunately, the 757 has to go through a number of rebuilds and modifications - putting in longer-range fuel tanks and a side cargo door.

"We hope late next year they'll be doing test flights and perhaps introducing it into service in 2007."

- NZPA