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STXM has recently completed the design of a new and innovative Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) for the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). Two of these 85-meter vessels were built at Tenix Defence Marine Division’s Williamstown shipyard near Melbourne, Australia and delivered in 2007. The HMNZS Otago and HMNZS Wellingdon were to enter service in 2008. OPVs offer an alternative to employing higher
priced frigates and destroyers to perform duties such as illegal
immigration surveillance, drug interdiction, searchand rescue, fisheries
and environment enforcement and countering terrorism. STXM has worked closely with Tenix and the New Zealand Ministry of Defence (NZMoD) to develop a design that fully meets the requirements of the Contract. The ship is designed to have excellent seakeeping qualities, 6,000 nautical mile endurance, and an icestrengthened hull, which enables the vessel to patrol the Ross Sea near Antarctica in the summer months. Replicating the RNZN ANZAC frigates, the vessel carries complete helicopter facilities including flight deck with night landing capability, basic maintenance hangar and refueling facility. |
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