Iwi join bid to turn Navy ship into diving site

Local iwi are joining business and tourism groups as partners in a trust being formed to try to have the decommissioned Navy frigate Canterbury sunk as a recreational diving attraction in the Bay of Islands.

Representatives of Ngati Kuta and Patu Keha are to join a charitable Bay of Islands Canterbury Trust as 50-50 joint venture partners as the group bids with others around the country to secure the old 3000-tonne warship.

Tenders for the sale and disposal of the 36-year-old Leander class frigate, now lying idle at Devonport Naval Base, close this Friday.

Iwi and other trust representatives will present their tender in person to the Navy this week.

The Far North group wants to add to a Northland east coast dive trail including Tutukaka, northeast of Whangarei, which has the former Navy ships Tui and Waikato on the seabed. North of the Bay of Islands, Matauri Bay has the former Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior.

A preferred site has been identified for sinking the Canterbury if the trust's bid is successful.

It would be off Maunganui Bay in Deep Water Cove, just inside Cape Brett at the entrance to the Bay of Islands.