Te Kaha allied to N-ship in Gulf force

By JOHN ARMSTRONG political editor

The New Zealand frigate being deployed to the Gulf will be liaising with a nuclear-powered United States aircraft carrier as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

But no New Zealand personnel will be stationed on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, the headquarters vessel for Gulf patrols by the Canadian-led coalition task force HMNZS Te Kaha is joining.

"My people will act with that headquarters - but they will not be on the carrier," Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson assured Parliament's foreign affairs and defence select committee yesterday.

Under New Zealand law, nuclear-powered ships are banned from New Zealand ports.

Te Kaha, now southwest of Indonesia, is bound for the Gulf at Washington's request to join a taskforce of warships charged with boarding vessels suspected of carrying al Qaeda terrorists.

Green MP Keith Locke said Te Kaha would be feeding information into the command centre on the Abraham Lincoln, effectively meaning New Zealand was involved in a military operation with a nuclear-powered carrier which sent bombing raids on the no-fly zone in Iraq.

Under repeated questioning from MPs on the select committee, Air Marshal Ferguson said the Defence Force had not undertaken any contingency planning for possible involvement in a US-led invasion of Iraq. Neither was he under instruction from the Government to do so.

Te Kaha has been away from New Zealand since August. As a result it will be brought home in February for maintenance and its sister ship, Te Mana, will replace it as part of Operation Enduring Freedom until the middle of next year.

Opposition MPs wanted to know whether the Navy could sustain the deployment of a frigate for longer than 12 months.

But Air Marshal Ferguson refused to answer.

Herald feature: Defence