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Canterbury
Warship Dive Attraction |
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The Bay of Islands
New Eco Dive Attraction at Deep Water Cove |
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Updated Jan 16, 2008 |
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Final Resting Place |
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Canterbury GPS location approx.
35°11'34.69"S 174°17'48.70"E |
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Sonar Image shortly
after sinking |
Foredeck on the
bottom |
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Sinking November 3, 2007 |
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nine months of final planning and a weather
postponement, the F421 finally slipped down to her
resting place. It took just four minutes for the
ship to flood and sink after the charges were fired.
Over 300 hospitality boats and pleasure craft
gathered around the 500 metre exclusion zone to
witness the event.
The engine room, galley and shell rooms had
previously been flooded. Holes had been cut into its
sides to ensure the ship stayed upright and in one
piece when it reached the bottom and without damage
from the explosives imported from the United States. |
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Preparation for the Sinking |
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The RNZN HMNZS Canterbury is
a Leander Class Frigate built in Scotland for the
Royal New Zealand Navy and commissioned in 1971. She was powered
by two steam turbines developing 30,000
horsepower through twin shafts.. HMNZS Canterbury was the last steam
powered Frigate in service.
F421
Canterbury was decommissioned by the RNZN in 2005.
Like most of the warships before her, she is being sunk as a diving
attraction. After the popularity of the Green Peace
Rainbow Warrior dive attraction further north in Matauri Bay, F421
will attract divers from all parts of the world to
dive on her final resting place, Deep Water
Cove in New Zealand's Bay of Islands.
Currently the Canterbury is at Opua
wharf in the Bay of Islands where fittings are being
removed and safety preparations made for sinking
at Deep Water Cove. The cove is just inside
Cape Brett near the southern entrance to the Bay of
Islands. The sinking will be close to the 36th
anniversary of the ships commissioning.
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HMNZS Canterbury History
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HMNZS Canterbury was
laid down on 12 June 1969 and
launched 11 months later on 6 May
1970. Commissioned on October 22,
1971, Canterbury went on to
see operational service in the
Persian Gulf, supporting United Nations
sanctions against Iraq and also in
East Timor. Canterbury also
relieved a Royal Navy Frigate, HMS
Amazon (F169), in the Indian Ocean,
during the Falklands War and relieved
the frigate HMNZS Otago at Murorua
Atoll during the anti French nuclear protests.
Although a relatively old ship,
several refits over her service life
meant Canterbury had both a tactical
and weapon fit out that remained up to
date. Her Phalanx Close-In Weapon
fired 3,000 rounds per minute. Her
refit in 1998 included changes to
accommodate the Navy's new Kaman Seasprite helicopter.
Specifications
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Passing Tapeka
Point as she leaves the Bay of Islands under her own
steam for the last time 2005 |
Loading troops
during active service |
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The Dive Location |
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Deep Water
Cove - Bay of Islands |
Cape Brett - southern
entrance to the Bay |
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Deep Water Cove is located near the
tip of
Cape Brett at the southern entrance to the Bay of Islands. It was
the
site of Zane Grey's first deep
sea angling base and an early whaling station. It is now a nature reserve. The cove is a
popular anchorage and shelter for boats after they
first enter the bay. There is no road access to the
cove but a popular 20km 8 hour Department of Conservation (DOC) walk
to Cape Brett light house passes by. Guided walking tours are also offered. An
Eco Tour
boat trip from Russell also drops people off at the cove. The
surrounding coastline is already a popular fishing and diving
location. This will be further enhanced by the Canterbury and the
new marine life it will attract. |
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The
Deep Water Cove site will complete a dive trail
of the highest international standards, incorporating the Poor Knights marine
reserve, the two former naval vessels, Waikato and Tui off
Tutukaka and the Rainbow Warrior at Matauri Bay. The
carefully selected site will
provide sheltered waters avoiding any potential environmental
hazards. The location provides a safe diving environment sheltered
from prevailing winds with minimal current. Deep Water
Cove will provide the perfect sanctuary for the frigate on the
sparsely inhabited sandy bottom at the selected location. The wreck
will create an artificial reef providing a new marine habitat. This will
directly improve bio diversity and fish stock in the area.
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Cape Brett Track
access at Deep Water Cove |
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The Bay of Islands Canterbury
Charitable Trust won the right to sink the ship ahead of several
other organisations from other parts of New Zealand, all canvassing
to have the rights to sink the ship along their part of the coast
line.
This has been a rare chance to
create an artificial reef for marine life and to create a
world class diving location adding value to the local economy and
eco-tourism.
The Canterbury is
the last Leander class frigate available for sinking in New Zealand.
There is
unlikely to be an opportunity for another new dive attraction of this
kind for the next 30 years.
Having paid $NZ 1 to purchase the ship,
the Trust has been
responsible for towing the vessel from Auckland to Opua Wharf, close
to its final resting place. The preparation project is providing employment and
skills training opportunities in a region with limited employment
opportunities.
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What to Look Forward to
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Below are pictures of
her sister ship Waikato, sunk
off the Tutukaka coast a short distance down the coast from the
Bay of Islands |
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| Preparations
for the Scuttling |
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A wrecking
crew recovered high
value non-ferrous metal such as copper in the
vessel's kilometers of wiring. Public open
days sold a number of items
including the entire captain's galley, dials,
gauges, telephones and signs. One propeller sold for $20,000 and there was strong demand for the crew's aluminum
gear lockers. The other propeller will become a
monument in Whangarei. Leander-class frigates were known to have a
hull weakness just forward of the bridge and the
frigates that have already been sunk, Waikato and
Wellington, had broken in half at the weak point.
This was taken into account when Canterbury was
sunk. The sinking site has a flat, sandy bottom. It
should sit on the bottom in one piece
for many years |
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Preparation at Opua
wharf |
Shared berth with R
Tucker Thompson |
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Devonport Naval Base February 2007 |
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Forward gun removed |
Gun destined for the Navy
Museum |
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Empty gun bay |
Portholes are removed and
sealed |
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Sealed top deck |
Torpedo tubes ready for a
new ship |
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Dry Dock Devonport
Naval Base Feb07 |
Dry Dock Devonport
Naval Base Feb07 |
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Sea squirt |
Propeller covered
in Sea squirt |
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Devonport with
Replacement class Te Kaha |
Departing Devonport
Feb 22 |
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At Devonport February
2007 prior to the tow north |
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Trust had hoped to tow it out of the naval base
before Christmas 2006 but that was delayed when the
marine pest, sea squirt, was found on the hull. This
was possibly introduced to Auckland by another
visiting ship. Biosecurity New Zealand ordered
it to be cleaned so the pest would not be
transferred to the Far North. A Biosecurity New
Zealand move to wrap the hull in plastic and kill
the pest failed when the plastic developed too many
holes. The ship had to go into dry dock in February
for the hull to be cleaned delaying the trip to
Northland. The ship finally got clearance and was
towed without event to the Opua wharf near Russell
where it is now being stripped of gear and valuable
materials in preparation for sinking later in the
year. |
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Other world famous New Zealand diving sites |
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Canterbury Specifications
Displacement 2,470
tons Standard, 2,990
Full Load
Dimensions 373 x 43
x 18 feet (114 x 13.1 x 5.5 metres)
Propulsion 2 x Steam Turbines, 30,000 hp, 2
shafts
Max. Speed 28
Knots
Endurance
30
days or 5500nm @
15kts: Max speed
28kts
Complement 243
- (15 Officers)
Aircraft 1 x Westland
Wasp later replaced by -
1 x Kaman Seasprite SH-2G
ASW Helicopter
Armament 1 x Twin 115mm,
1 x 20mm Phalanx CIWS,
2 x Triple 21-inch torpedo
tubes
Weapons
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Guns
- 2 x 1 Vickers 114mm Mk 6 –
20rpm to 19km, 1 x Phalanx CIWS – 3000 rpm to 1.5km, 4 x 12.7mm
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Missiles - Seacat Missile system
removed early 1990’s and replaced by Phalanx.
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Anti Submarine
- Mk 46 Mod 5 ASW
torpedo in Mk 32 Tubes
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Helicopter Launched M46 Mod 2 ASW
torpedo
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Maverick AGM-65 (NZ) Air to surface missile
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Depth Charges
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M-60 Machine Gun
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Countermeasures
- 2 SRBOC Mk 36 Mod
1 launchers
Sensors
Extensively
modernized from the 1980's. The
sensors listed below were those
fitted to the vessel at the time the
vessels were withdrawn from service
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Air Search Radar - Signaal LW-08 D
Band: Range 265km for 2m2 Target
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Air Surface Search Radar
- Plessey
Type 993 E/F Band
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Navigation Radar - Kelvin Hughes
Type 1006 I band
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Hull Sonar - Graseby Type 750
Medium Frequency Active
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Electronic Surveillance
- Argo
Phoenix intercept and Jammer, Telegon PST 1288 HVU
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IFF system: Cossor Mk XII
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Data System
- Plessey/Marconi Nautis F with Link 11
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Weapons Control
- RCA TR-76 I Band
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Machinery
2
X Babcock & Wilcox
Boilers - 38.7
cm sq, 454oC,
22.4 MW, 2
Diesel
Generators
Propellers
The
Canterbury
propellers are a UK
MOD design,
manufactured by
Stone Manganese, a
large propeller
design and
manufacturing
specialist.
The
propellers are made
of an
aluminum-bronze
alloy. Leander Class
frigates pioneered
‘agouti drillings’
which were cast into
the propeller during
manufacture. These
allow pressurised
air to be fed
through the body of
the propeller and
out through vents in
the leading edge of
the individual
blades. This feature
reduced the prospect
of cavitation thus
lessening erosion
and reducing
underwater noise -
an obvious advantage
for an
anti-submarine
frigate.
The
twin five blade
propellers fitted to
earlier Type 12
frigates (i.e.
“Otago” and
“Taranaki”) did not
have this feature as
they were cast
solid. These
propellers are
“handed”, i.e. the
port and starboard
propellers were
outward turning when
the ship traveled
forward.
Diameter - 12'
Pitch - 17' 8" @
.7 radius
Area - 79.49 sq
ft
Weight - 4.8 ton
One
of the propellers
purchased by the Far
North District
Council will be
donated to a local
community group to
be mounted as a land
based memorial.
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When you plan your trip to the Bay
of Islands consider staying at Tapeka Del Mar. If you are taking a
dive charter the boats will pick you up at the beach or Russell wharf - just two
minutes away. If you are bringing your own boat Tapeka is the
closest launching ramp to the islands. The beachfront accommodation
has room for 13 guests with off street parking for boat trainers.,
all tide boat ramp and a deep water guest mooring right in front.
There is even a filleting station and bait freezer. Take some time to look at the rest
of the web site and please bookmark it and this page for future reference |
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Tapeka Del Mar
Bay of Islands Beachfront Accommodation
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