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International flotilla mobilised as New Zealand continues to shake, rattle and roll

An international flotilla steaming towards Auckland for the Royal New Zealand Navy’s 75th anniversary celebrations has been diverted south and commercial shipping has also mobilised as relief efforts following Monday’s 7.5 magnitude earthquake in North Canterbury gather momentum.

November 15, 2016

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US, Canadian and Australian naval assets will join four RNZN vessels off devastated Kaikoura, a small whale watching community 180km north of Christchurch which has been cut off by the massive shake and the more than 2000 aftershocks which have rattled New Zealand since.

Helicopters on most of the vessels will be critical to the evacuation of stranded overseas tourists and elderly and ill locals as the seabed off Kaikoura has risen more than two metres, making navigation to the town’s wharf impossible.

Meanwhile, an initial 180 teu of essential cargo is to be shipped from Auckland and Tauranga in the North Island to Lyttelton near Christchurch, a 48 hour sail from Auckland. The freight would normally be distributed by truck or rail via the port of Picton at the tip of the South Island but ruptured roads, buckled railway lines and massive slips have crippled infrastructure.

Pacifica Shipping ceo Steve Chapman said the Kiwi carrier was adding capacity where possible with freight that is set to be moved over the coming days being put into containers overnight. 

"Our international parent company Swire Shipping is assisting and making diversion calls from Auckland and Tauranga to Lyttelton to deliver 180 [containers] which will relieve some supply chain pressure," Chapman told stuff.co.nz

"We're reviewing our coastal tonnage in anticipation of a prolonged land based transport outage between the [North and South] islands. We're taking this matter very seriously." NZ_Map_CORRECT.png

KiwiRail​ is investigating a direct Wellington to Christchurch ferry service for freight and people to support efforts. The company’s Interislander ferries normally ply the Cook Strait between Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city at the foot of the North Island, and Picton.

However, Centreport in Wellington will remain closed until at least 22 November after the harbour city encountered aftershocks up to a 5.3 magnitude today.

No “significant” new damage has been reported but the port and wharf gates remain in lockdown, essentially ruling Wellington out as an immediate seaborne relief option. Only the oil terminal situated outside of the port area re-opened today.

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While all berths have re-opened at Picton, Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) reports that some port workers were unable to reach the port today due to landslides closing roads.  

Meanwhile, the RNZN’s diamond jubilee celebrations might be on ice but the timing couldn’t be better with international support sailing towards Kaikoura in the wake of the HMNZS vessels Canterbury, Wellington Te Kaha and the tanker ship, HMNZS Endeavour.

The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Samson, the first American naval asset to visit New Zealand in decades due to NZ’s anti-nuclear stance, critically has two MH60 Helicopters on board. The Australian guided missile frigate HMAS Darwin has a Seahawk helicopter while Canada’s is sending its frigate the HMCS Vancouver.

A United States Marine Corps P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft currently participating in New Zealand exercises will also join relief efforts. The Orion from Hawaii based Patrol Squadron (VP) 47 will conduct aerial assessments of earthquake affected areas around Kaikoura.

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