Defence Force Staff Leaving Leads to a Third of NZ Navy Ships Sitting Idle
December 8, 2022
PHOTO: Elena Pasilio
Three of New Zealand’s nine navy ships are sitting idle in port as defence personnel leave the force for better salaries.
The HMNZS Wellington returned to Aoteroa from a planned fisheries patrol operation in Fiji, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu a month early this year.
The offshore patrol vessel joined HMNZS Otago and HMNZS Hawea in port meaning three of New Zealand’s navy ships are now sitting unused.
In a briefing of ‘high’ importance to the defence minister, Chief of Defence Force Air Marshall Kevin Short said the move would free up engineering personnel as workforce attrition impacted ship availability to deliver naval outputs.