HMNZS ''Wellington'' was a

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

and the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

(RNZN). Originally commissioned in 1969 for the Royal Navy as , she joined the RNZN in 1982. She was decommissioned in 1999 and sunk in 2005.

Refit

On arrival in New Zealand, ''Wellington'' was decommissioned and entered an extended refit which ended in 1986. The limited modernization proved difficult and took an unexpected 4 years. When inspected prior to purchase in 1981, she was in the condition expected for a

(RN) frigate after a dozen years' service. However, in 1982 the frigate conducted a four-month winter patrol in the postwar Falklands exclusion zone with the other four RN unmodernised ''Leander''s. Sea conditions in the Falkland exclusion zone meant more expensive hull repair was needed. Large-scale energy projects in New Zealand, particularly

Marsden Point Marsden Point is a broad, flat peninsula that is the southern head of the Whangārei Harbour entrance on the east coast of Northland, New Zealand, southeast of the city of Whangārei. It is the location of Marsden Point Oil Refinery and the N ...

, resulted in a loss of key dockyard staff and recruitment difficulties. The installation of additional fuel tanks to extend the range of South Pacific operations proved difficult and dirty work. A new gunnery control system (RCA-76) along with surface and navigation radar were fitted, escape hatches were enlarged and asbestos was removed. The original estimated cost of transferring and refitting ''Bacchante'' and ''Dido'' to RNZN was $100m in 1981. By 1985 it reached $263m Other minor changes were also made as a result of practical experiences of British frigates during the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...

. Later refits saw new long-range air surveillance radar in place of the old 965 bedstead, with the Thales LW08 (1994) and the original

Seacat missile Seacat was a British short-range surface-to-air missile system intended to replace the ubiquitous Bofors 40 mm gun aboard warships of all sizes. It was the world's first operational shipboard point-defence missile system, and was designed so th ...

removed and replaced by the Phalanx CIWS (1998).

Operational history

Like her sister-ship , ''Wellington'' was stood to during the First Coup in Fiji in 1987 to evacuate New Zealand and other foreign nationals should the need have arisen. In 1988, ''Wellington'' accompanied HMNZ Ships ''Canterbury'', and to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, Australia to participate in the Bicentennial Salute to mark the 200th Anniversary of the settlement of Europeans in that country. Vessels from the navies of Australia, Britain, France, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, United States and Vanuatu were represented. In 1994, ''Wellington'' contributed to the international Peace Keeping initiative in Bougainville along with ''Canterbury''. In 1995/1996, ''Wellington'' deployed to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

on the first of the RNZN deployments supporting the MIF (Multinational Interception Force) enforcing UN sanctions on Iraqi trade through the Gulf. ''Wellington'' successfully detained a number of vessels exporting dates from and attempting to import prohibited cargoes to Iraq. The frigate attended peace talks at Bougainville in July and August 1990. On 23 February 2017, it was announced by NZDF that the ''New Zealand Operations Service Medal'' (NZOSM) had been awarded to personnel who were in Bougainville for the Operation BIGTALK peace talks.

Sinking

HMNZS ''Wellington'' was deliberately sunk off the south coast of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, in

Houghton Bay Houghton Bay and Valley is one of the southern suburbs of Wellington, New Zealand. It is located between Island Bay and Lyall Bay, on the rocky shores of the Cook Strait. It has two beaches, Houghton Bay and Princess Bay, used by surfers, sw ...

, just east of

Island Bay Island Bay is a coastal suburb of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, situated south of the city centre. Island Bay lies on the bay which shares its name, one of numerous small bays off Cook Strait and west of Lyall Bay. 500m offshore in ...

, Wellington. Although the ship was due to be sunk at 3pm on 12 November 2005, this was delayed for 24 hours due to weather. The next day, the sinking was delayed by another 30 minutes due to the entanglement of a detonation cable under the frigate. At 3:30pm on 13 November, the ship was scuttled and took a minute and 55 seconds to sink. During a storm in February 2006, the ship broke up and is now lying in two sections on the seabed close to where it was sunk at The depth of her keel is approximately , making the wreck accessible by

scuba divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...

using standard equipment.

References

External links

Sunken Treasure
- TVNZ video segment on the sinking (14:40)
Sink F69!
(Dive the Trail - Wellington, Waikato, Canterbury) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wellington Leander-class frigates of the Royal New Zealand Navy Shipwrecks of the Cook Strait Maritime incidents in 2005 Wellington Ships built on the River Tyne Ships built by Vickers Armstrong

Refit

Operational history

Sinking

See also

References

External links