Small Platforms Make A Big Difference

Freedom of navigation and ‘presence’ missions in response to territorial disputes with the Peoples Republic of China, fishery patrols and interdiction of migrants at sea are among the operational requirements for Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and corvettes in the Asia-Pacific.

- Marty Kauchak

Asia-Pacific navies and other maritime forces assign their OPVs to missions in territorial/brown waters and beyond; and well into the blue water domain. A New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) spokesperson provided AMR with one unique insight of recent and planned OPV operations, from the perspective of the Royal New Zealand Navy’s HMNZS Otago and HMNZS Wellington ‘Protector’ class OPVs. From June 2016 to October 2016, HMNZS Otago conducted two separate fishery patrols and went on a re-supply mission. The spokesperson added: “From 3rd February to 20th February, (she) resupplied the Campbell and Auckland islands in the sub-Antarctic, in support of the Department of Conservation and MetService (the New Zealand meteorological service). (She) also helped the Defence Technology Agency launch a wave buoy to gather data on the characteristics of Southern Ocean waves to support operations in the area and (in the) Ross Sea.” Concurrently, HMNZS Wellington was deployed to Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia during July 2016 and August 2016, and was tasked with supporting the NZDF’s response to the Kaikoura earthquake in November 2016. “(She) patrolled the Southern Ocean and New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone between November 2016 and January. Throughout February and March, HMNZS Wellington conducted patrols along the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island,” the spokesperson noted.