New Zealand has learned amphibious lessons
HMNZS Canterbury has allowed the RNZN to dip its feet in the water in terms of learning amphibious operations.
The 14-year-old HMNZS Canterbury is one of the Royal New Zealand Navy’s (RNZN) most important ships, even though its combat capability is negligible. The multirole vessel’s utility was illustrated in a recent port visit to Lyttelton, the main harbour for Christchurch.
Canterbury arrived in time for 10th-anniversary commemorations of the Christchurch earthquake of 2011. The amphibious transport ship (L421) had fortuitously been in Lyttelton to pick up New Zealand Army equipment for a large military exercise when the 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck on 22 February 2011.
The 131.2m vessel built in the Netherlands was able to support disaster relief operations
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