Wellington scuttled in Cook Strait

The former HMNZS Wellington is sunk off Island Bay. Picture / NZPA

It took just under two minutes to turn a frigate into an artificial reef yesterday - around about the time the HMNZS Wellington took to sink gracefully to the sea floor off the coast of its namesake city.

The flag on the bow was the last thing to sink out of sight into the churning water - ending a history of three decades afloat as a ship in both the Royal Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy.

Marco Zeeman, whose SinkF69 Charitable Trust organised the scuttling, said it was the climax of a six-year project that would change the dive industry in the capital.

"She's looking good, nice and straight," he said of the newly created dive site between Houghton Bay and Island Bay on the south coast.

"We think she took about one minute and 55 seconds to go down."

Explosives were strategically placed on the ship to make it sink fast and land squarely on the sea bottom, at a depth of up to 26m.

The frigate had been holed from bow to stern before the sinking, with especially created holes for diving through the wreck.

The 113m-long former warship was bought from the Government for $1 by the charitable trust formed solely for the acquisition of the frigate, to create an artificial marine reef and world-class recreational dive facility.

The frigate is of special significance for Waitara man John Flynn, who had two stints on HMNZS Wellington as a non-commissioned officer and leading seaman in 1987 and 1988.

"She was my first ship in the Royal Navy in 1974 as the Bacchante as a 17-year-old, straight out of training, and she was my last ship with the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1988.

"I enjoyed my time on the Bacchante and on the Wellington.

"I'm in two minds really [about the sinking]. It's a shame to see a good ship being sunk, but it's better than having her cut up to be razor blades.

"At least this way people get to dive and see her, so she still has some good to offer."

HMNZS Wellington

* Launched in 1969.

* 113m long.

* 3804 tonnes.

* Carried 250 officers and ratings.

* Served the Royal Navy as HMS Bacchante for 12 years and deployed in second Cod War with Iceland.

* Refitted as Wellington in 1982 for Royal New Zealand Navy.

* Deployed throughout the Pacific and Arabian Gulf.

* Bought for $1 by the SinkF69 Charitable Trust.