HMNZS Kiwi (P3554) was a Moa-class inshore patrol vessel
HIt was commissioned in 1983 for the Naval Volunteer Reserve. Kiwi had been attached to the Christchurch division of the Naval Volunteer Reserve from her commissioning until relocating to Auckland in 2006.
Kiwi, in company with Wakakura, carried out farewell manoeuvres on 29 November 2007, flying a paying-off pennant, in Waitemata Harbour prior to decommissioning on 11 December 2007.[1]
Kiwi was the second ship of this name to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy and is named after the national bird of New Zealand.
HMNZS Kiwi (P3554) was a Moa-class inshore patrol vessel
French Pass , Reserve M C M fleet VR IPC’s MOA, KIWI, WAKAKURA and HINAU and KAHU transiting French Pass.
It was commissioned in 1985 for the Naval Volunteer Reserve and decommissioned in 2007. Hinau is the second ship with this name to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy. The name comes from the forest tree Elaeocarpus dentatus which is native to New Zealand.
She was launched in 1979 as the lead boat of her class, modified to function as a diving tender. She was initially named HMNZS Manawanui (A09),[1] the second of soon to be four diving tenders with this name to serve in the New Zealand Navy. As a diving tender she participated in the exploration and salvage work of the wreck MS Mikhail Lermontov in March 1986.[1]
HMNZS KahuHMNZS Kahu (Ex)HMNZS Kahu (Ex) in Canada
On 17 May 1988, she was renamed Kahu (A04) and recommissioned as the basic seamanship and navigation training vessel attached to the Royal New Zealand Naval College. Kahu is the second boat with this name to serve in the New Zealand Navy. (The name comes from the Māori-languagekāhu – the name for the native swamp harrier hawk.) The ship was replaced in her role as a diving tender by HMNZS Manawanui (A09).
She remained in service for seamanship, Officer of the Watch training and as a backup diving tender until her decommissioning on 30 October 2009. The ship was sold for use as a pleasure craft on 18 February 2010.[2]
Kahu was distinguished from other boats of the Moa class by the gantry on her quarterdeck and lack of funnels.
After leaving the Royal New Zealand Navy she was sold to Peter White-Robinson and renamed Kahu. In 2011 she underwent a year long refit at Fitzroy Yachts in New Plymouth, converting her to a ‘family ship’. In 2013 she was sold.[3]
In 2021 the vessel was involved in a £160,000,000 drugs bust when she was intercepted by HMC Searcher 130 km off the coast of Plymouth.[4] 1 British Citizen and 5 Nicaraguan citizens were arrested. 2000kgs of Cocaine was reported to be onboard.[
HMNZS Taupo is a Lake-class inshore patrol vessel of our Royal New Zealand Navy. It is one of our Navy’s two Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPV). The ships are designed for maritime surveillance and patrol missions around New Zealand’s 15,000-kilometre coast and out to the 200 nautical mile limit of our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
HMNZS Taupo’s primary mission is to ensure the security and prosperity of New Zealanders by undertaking maritime security patrols, surveillance, boarding operations, navigation training and response to search and rescue call-outs.
Conceived as part of Project Protector, the ships were built in Whangarei by BAE Systems Australia (formerly Tenix Shipbuilding).
Taupo is the last of the four IPVs that were delivered to the Ministry of Defence and was commissioned into the Royal New Zealand Navy on 29 May 2009. Taupo is the third ship of this name to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy and is named after Lake Taupō.
Our two Inshore Patrol Vessels, HMNZS Taupo and HMNZS Hawea, have fully automated control and navigations systems, powerful engines, modern communications and surveillance systems, active stabilisers and comfortable accommodation. Using the two RHIBs (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats) onboard, both ships can undertake boarding operations, surveillance and transport personnel. The RHIBs are launched using two automatic davits near the stern of the vessels. The ships are highly manoeuvrable and capable of speeds up to 25 knots (46 kilometres per hour).
They regularly work with government agencies such as Primary Industries (fisheries), Customs, Police and the Department of Conservation and frequently visit ports throughout the country. Taupo regularly undertakes patrols around New Zealand’s major fishing grounds, including the West Coast of the South Island, Marlborough Sounds, Cook Strait, Northland and the North Island East Coast.
Homeport: Whangārei Ship Sponsor: Lady Susan Satyanand
Commanding Officer
Lieutenant Samara Mankelow
Ship’s Badge
HMNZS Taupō’s Badge
Motto: Kia U (standfast).
Designed by personnel in the WWII Loch Class Frigate, the first to bear the name, the badge features a Māori canoe, with wavy lines representing the sea. The canoe is double-hulled, the type of construction which brought the Arawa people to Aotearoa New Zealand, eventually to settle in the area including Lake Taupō.
Taupō was named by Ship Sponsor, Her Excellency Lady Susan Satyanand and is affiliated to the Whangarei / Northland region.
Operations
Surveillance and reconnaissance around NZ coastline
Counter-terrorism
Search and Rescue
Interception and boarding
Apprehension and escort of vessels
Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief
Support for other government agencies, including Police, Primary Industries, Customs and Department of Conservation
LÉ Gobnait ([ˈɡɔbˠnˠətʲ], GUB-nət) is a Lake-class inshore patrol vessel inshore patrol boat of the Irish Naval Service. Launched as HMNZS Pukaki in 2008, the vessel was in Royal New Zealand Navy service from 2009 to 2019. Its primary duties included border and fisheries protection patrols, surveillance, boarding operations and search and rescue response. It was sold to Ireland in 2022. Together with its sister Rotoiti, Pukaki was renamed and commissioned into Irish service in September 2024.
Commissioned in 2009, Pukaki was the third ship of this name to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy and is named after Lake Pukaki.
Pukaki was decommissioned at Devonport Naval Base on 17 October 2019. Regulatory changes in 2012 resulted in operating restrictions around speed and sea states being imposed on them. Subsequently the RNZN assessed them as no longer being suited to the heavy seas typically encountered off New Zealand and further afield.[2]
In 2022, Pukaki, along with her sister Rotoiti, was sold to Ireland for use by the Irish Naval Service.[3] Both ships were purchased by Irish Department of Defence for €26m.
Pukaki and Rotoiti were transported, from New Zealand to Ireland, by the heavy lift transport ship Happy Dynamic. Arriving in Ireland in May 2023,[4] they were delivered to the Irish naval base at Haulbowline in Cork Harbour where they underwent a refit.[citation needed]
Pukaki was renamed and commissioned into Irish service, as LÉ Gobnait, in September 2024.[5][6][7] The vessel is primarily intended for fisheries protection patrols in the Irish Sea.[8]
