NZ retires half its inshore patrol vessels
Although just ten years old, the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) retired two inshore patrol vessels (IPV) – HMNZS Pukaki (P3568) and HMNZS Rotoiti (P3569) – during a ceremony at Devonport Naval Base in Auckland on 17 October.
Their withdrawal from service from the Naval Patrol Force was confirmed in the 2019 Defence Capability Plan which stated that ‘operational experience has confirmed that specific tasks required of the naval patrol force are better conducted by offshore patrol vessels than inshore patrol vessels, particularly in the South Pacific, due to their longer range, endurance and embarked aviation capability.’
Further, it stated
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