Military Procurement International Vol. 19, No. 9, May 1, 2009
Copyright DAPSS S.A., 200
9, Switzerland. It is unlawful to reproduce any of this publication without written permission from the publisher.
NEW ZEALAND
Deal
over delayed Inshore Patrol Vessels
On April 14, it was announced that BAE
Systems Australia had reached a contractual agreement with the New Zealand
Defence Ministry over the delayed delivery of four Rotoiti class Inshore Patrol
Vessels (IPVs) to the Royal New Zealand
Navy.
The lead ship, Rotoiti, was
handed over on April 16, and the other three will be delivered progressively by
the end of May 2009.
Procurement of the IPVs is part of the RNZN’s NZ$500 million (US$294 million) Project Protector, which also calls for the delivery of two Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and one Multi-Role Vessel (MRV). The latter, HMS Canterbury, was handed over in May 2007, but the two OPVs are still awaiting delivery. Their projected commissioning dates were originally January and June 2008. Mediation is expected to start on May 25 and Defence Minister Wayne Mapp said that “Although we have begun a mediation process, we are still working hard to resolve the outstanding issues through negotiation with the contractor.”