A Japanese supply ship sunk by Allied bombing during the Second World War
Princess Ashika
sunken Tongan ferry Princess Ashika. Mine Counter Measures using an AUV located the ferry and obtained a detailed acoustic picture which the Operational Dive Team used to plan their reconnaissance using a remote underwater vehicle. Back here at home, we are often called upon to assist the Police in looking for persons lost at sea or inland lakes as we have the ability to search large areas quickly, which helps the Police bring a quicker resolution to a sombre situation and some closure to the families involved. A classic example of Mine Counter Measures at work was the response to the grounding of the container ship Rena on Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga. The ship rolled heavily to starboard during poor weather in the week following the grounding, spilling 88 containers into the inner Bay of Plenty. While many of the containers were badly damaged when they spilled overboard and sank near the wreck, many others didn't. These floating containers presented a considerable risk to maritime navigation within the area. There was a strong likelihood one or more of them might float into the main channel, sink and pose a danger to passing shipping.
This
created the potential for a passing vessel to strike the container, suffer catastrophic damage and sink in the channel, closing the port until she was also salvaged. The Port of Tauranga is accessed via a narrow harbour entrance through which all large traffic must pass if using the port. Given its close proximity to Astrolabe Reef and the wreck of the Rena, Maritime New Zealand deemed maintaining Tauranga as a free and open sea port to be crucial to the salvage efforts. It also had the additional benefit of keeping the commercial port open for business. A Navy team comprising specialists drawn from Mine Counter Measures and hydrographers from the Maritime Survey Team were deployed to the area from Auckland, a local vessel was chartered through Maritime NZ, side-scan sonar equipment was embarked and within hours they were out on the water, scanning the harbour channel looking for sunken container debris. This exemplifies the ability for niche capabilities within our Navy to deploy rapidly; to be out on the water quickly using local resources and, most importantly, keep a major shipping port open, despite being threatened by underwater objects. The equipment, personnel and standard operating procedures utilised for this operation are used daily in training to find underwater mines. However, it is the secondary benefits of having that equipment and trained personnel ready to go that offer the most value for money. The impact of closing the Port of Tauranga would have been beyond description, not only for the Rena salvage operation but also for the economy, given that the port reportedly handles the most cargo per volume in New Zealand. I have to quickly point out that Mine Counter Measures was only one small element of a larger defence joint task force that deployed to assist Maritime NZ in responding to the grounding of the Rena.
The military response was magnificent to watch, but that's another story.
VIP.WB11 January/February 2012 Professional Skipper 39
