New Zealand docks its third naval ship due to lack of crew
Asia-Pacific, News December 12, 2022 2 Comments on New Zealand docks its third naval ship due to lack of crewThree of the nine naval ships from the Royal New Zealand Navy have been docked at the naval base in Davenport due to insufficient personnel.
New Zealand’s HMNZS Wellington has become the third ship to enter an indefinite period of idleness due to a lack of operating crew. The 279-foot-long offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington has joined HMNZS Otago and 180-foot-long inshore patrol vessel HMNZS Hawea, which have been docked due to the same reason.
Chief of New Zealand’s Defence Force Air Marshal Kevin Short declared the move would free up engineering personnel amid workforce attrition. He also argued that placing a ship into care and custody would result in diverting the workforce to achieve operational success and allow better management for attrition.
“If the current attrition rate of 16.5% can be arrested, it is expected [that we] will have sufficient sailors to operate the rest of the fleet,” Kevin said. “However, there remains a level of uncertainty until this attrition rate is reversed. This requires a number of initiatives to take effect, including addressing the widening gap between our sailor remuneration and what the highly competitive job market is offering,” he added.
Many sailors from the Royal New Zealand Navy have resigned and the naval recruitment rate is not enough to keep up with the opening slots. The navy is facing a severe shortage of naval engineers and technical staff to keep the ships sailing.
Low salaries or benefits do not appear to be the main reason behind the stagnant recruitment, instead, it was due to New Zealand’s tight COVID-19 restrictions that caused an exodus. According to some sources, many of the personnel were ordered to manage the quarantine facilities and were tasked to implement government COVID-19 policy during the pandemic, and subsequently resigned.
In this phase, the Royal New Zealand Navy is docking its patrol vessels as well as selling them. Earlier this year in March, New Zealand sold two of its inshore patrol vessels to Ireland. At the time, Chief of Navy Rear Admiral David Proctor said the remaining ships will provide important training and command opportunities for junior officers. However, New Zealand has docked three of its nine remaining patrol ships since then. If the situation of personnel shortage continues, the next phase may see the docking of New Zealand’s warships.
New Zealand had built four lake-class inshore patrol ships and commissioned them into service in 2009. Two of these ships, HMNZS Pukaki and HMNZS Rotoiti, were sold to Ireland in 2019.
HMNZS Hawea has been docked to the shortage of crew and currently one of the four ships, HMNZS Taupo remains in service remains available for service, and has a full work program scheduled for next year.
Related Articles
Leave a comment
IRIA Exclusive
Publications
IRIA Defense Review 2022
Journal of International Affairs & Politics
Infographics
2 Comments
[…] staff attrition resulted in the 2022 docking of three Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) ships indefinitely due to personnel shortages, as well as the early retirement of the Royal New Zealand Air Force […]
[…] staff attrition resulted in the 2022 docking of three Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) ships indefinitely due to personnel shortages, as well as the early retirement of the Royal New Zealand Air Force […]