Navy floats sale of warship parts

Anyone wanting Navy warship memorabilia is about to be given a chance at hundreds of thousands of bits and pieces.

The Navy has a warehouse full of spare parts for Leander-class frigates, but it has no more operational ships in the class and wants rid of the parts.

The last Leander ship, the former HMNZS Canterbury, was taken out of commission last March. Its sister ship, the former HMNZS Wellington, was sunk at Island Bay, Wellington, last November as a dive attraction and artificial reef.

Canterbury is still sitting at the Devonport naval base in Auckland awaiting a decision by new Defence Minister Phil Goff about its future.

Its scrap-metal value is diminishing as China is expected to produce a 100 million-tonne surplus of steel by the end of this year.

A year ago, Canterbury would have had a scrap value of at least $250,000 but today that figure would be a lot less, said Commander David Proctor, who is in charge of getting rid of the parts and the old ship.

The Canterbury could end up as a dive attraction as well.

The Navy museum has been through the warehouse and taken anything of sentimental value. A British clearing house that specialises in parts for old Leander-class frigates was interested in selling the parts on behalf of the Navy but that option was not considered, Commander Proctor said. "We don't want to hold it. We want it gone."

The parts are likely to be offered for sale by tender within the next few weeks, and the Navy wants them to go as one lot.

They include pump casings, fuses, door handles, rubber hoses and anything ever likely to be needed on a complex ship.

Some of the parts were new and still in their protective packing after being delivered more than 40 years ago but most parts had scrap value only, rather than any intrinsic or commercial value, Commander Proctor said.

- NZPA