Television reports confirmed fears of major destruction
HMNZS Canterbury arrives at Lyttelton on February 28. Damage to the wharf can clearly be seen in the foreground
throughout the region, with alarming reports of fatalities due to large buildings collapsing within the Christchurch central business district. Canterbury was able to land the embarked force soldiers to address the immediate safety and security challenges within the Lyttelton commercial precinct, while plans were made to fully unload vehicles during the evening ramp window. Unfortunately, Canterbury's side door ramps were never designed for all-tide utilisation on most of New Zealand's wharves and structures. Yes I know, but I can say it was not our Navy's fault. Blame some idiot naval architect from Europe employed by the shipbuilder Tenix and then think of part of the $85 million compensation package. The Navy is learning to work within these design constraints and while not compromising safety, it can be frustrating for the crew when under pressure. Both HMNZS Resolution and Canterbury were able to respond y
immediately and during the afternoon of February 22, with Resolution undertaking a hydrographic confidence survey of Lyttelton Harbour. Also in the area were the offshore patrol vessels HMNZS
Otago and IPV HMNZS Pukaki, on patrol near Oamaru and Timaru as part of Exercise Southern Katipo. On their arrival, personnel from the Otago checked navigation aids in Lyttelton Harbour and also checked for seabed movement. With half the task done, there were indications slippage and land slumping at no. 2 wharf and the tug jetty land boundary had resulted in depth reductions of about 2m. The location of the change did not appear to constitute a danger to vessels. On February 24, Canterbury provided 700 hot meals at y
20 Professional Skipper July/August 2011 r
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