The navy's newest ship, HMNZS Canterbury, is set to stay tied up at Devonport naval base in Auckland for a few more weeks, awaiting delivery of new inflatable sea boats.
The 80,000-tonne multi-role ship, commissioned last year, has been in dock for several weeks after its two $150,000 7.4-metre rigid-hulled inflatable sea boats failed to meet safety standards.
Replacements had been ordered from Australia but the navy said it would be several weeks before they arrived and the ship was fully operational again.
The sea boat problem was also delaying the formal commissioning of offshore and inshore patrol boats being built for the navy under the $500 million Project Protector programme.
Canterbury and its sea boats came under the spotlight after one sea boat was swept out of its alcove on the side of the ship and lost and the other was badly damaged in heavy seas in the Bay of Plenty last July.
Last October one of the boats capsized as it was being launched and a seaman drowned when he was trapped under water.
Defence Minister Phil Goff ordered and independent inquiry by British maritime expert John Coles following the tragedy.
He said the ship was "intrinsically safe" but needed $20 million spent on it to bring it up to scratch.
That would include modifications to the sea boat alcoves and new sea boats.
The original Gemini boats were supplied with the ship when it was delivered to the navy from the Tenix yard in Melbourne where the ship was fitted with its naval communications, other systems and armament after being built in Holland.
The navy ordered 14 of the boats, worth an estimated $2m, for the seven new ships being built under Project Protector.
As well as Canterbury the navy would also get two 85-metre offshore patrol boats and four 55-metre inshore patrol boats, each fitted with the inflatable sea boats.
Although the navy ordered 14 of the new inflatable boats, technically the navy owned only the two on Canterbury which were replaced when the first two were destroyed and damaged.
Negotiations were being held with Tenix (now BAE Systems Australia) over the rest of the sea boats for the offshore and inshore patrol boats.
In the meantime the navy has ordered four similarly sized Zodiac inflatable boats from Australia, two for Canterbury and two to get other new ships in the fleet, ready to be commissioned, to sea.
The first of the two 85-metre off shore patrol boats, HMNZS Otago, was launched in Melbourne nearly two years ago and is still there.
It had done its sea trials but was still waiting for its new seaboat. Its sister ship, HMNZS Wellington was launched in October last year.
