Problems of policing an expanded ocean area

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34129, 15 April 1976, Page 6

Problems of policing an expanded ocean area

! This is the second i of three article by i Cedric Mentiplay on I the law of the sea. The probability that within a short time New Zealand will be required to police some 1,400.000 miles of ocean area would indicate that our Navy and Air Force should be reshaped without delay to avoid the creation of a vacuum of power. It is fairly obvious that the Law of the Sea Conference, now meeting in New York, will decide in favour

either of the 200-mile “economic zone" surrounding our coastline, or of the older United States concept relating to suzerainty over the continental shelf. ; In either case it becomes apparent that our existing sea and air services are inadequate for the task. On several recent occasions they have been proved i barely sufficient to watch New Zealand's existing 12-1 mile territorial limit. 1 New Zealand dependsL upon a handful of Lockheed! Orion long-range maritime!, reconnaissance aircraft fori the more distant surveillancej! work, and a similarly small!, number of British-designed j‘ motor-launches for closer-inl patrol-work, plus surface , surveillance and pursuit oflj (suggested poachers Limitations t It has been demonstrated.

that the navy frigates and! the ground-attack Skyhawks can be called in if required. But neither may be available on specific occasions, and both have some disqualifying limitations. The frigates may be too far away for their speeds (of around 28 knots) to bring them into striking range, and there is an element of

danger in using singleengined land-based aircraft far offshore. Whether we have Orions for the job is a matter for argument. Even more so is the question whether the equipment of the Orion's, which was the very latest when these aircraft reached us, is still adequate. Under wraps j When New Zealand reiceived the Orions nearly a! ■decade ago, this equipment! I was under "special wraps"] I — and no unauthorised per--sons, such as journalists,: [were permitted aboard the! (aircraft. I A short time before this, the United States Navy demonstrated one of its Orions ’in New Zealand, taking parities of journalists and others ' I for short flights. i Details of the working of! such indispensable items as I surveillance radar. sub-; surface sono-buoy listening devices, and the fascinating magnetic anomaly detector! 'were demonstrated and ex-! i plained with no more secrecy than surrounded that! other long-patrol must, the automatic coffee-maker. Today, most of the equipment of our Orions has been superseded in their United States opposite numbers. The M.A.D. still works, but not with the efficiency of the latest mark of this' fascinating electronic device which reads magnetic forcelines accurately enough to detect variations when they’ pass through the metal body of a ship or submarine.

The aircraft themselves have passed their best, | though top maintenance! keeps them efficient. It. is ; worth noting that the Orion is a variant of the passengercarrying Lockheed Electra, once used by Air New Zealand. The original service intention was to buy the: much-advertised maritime, version of the Hercules, or 1 I Cl 30, which was being purchased for the R.N.Z.A.F. as a long-range transport. However, it was discovered that: the maritime Hercules! existed only on the; drawing board, and that: any purchaser would have to; pay the development costs, i An fl over It has been suggested that; the Orion is too large am aircraft to be used ef-i | ficiently in the type of sur-! i veillance work required in! any extended “economic; zone.” Fortuitously’, the Royal Air Force is selling off its fleet cf Andover transport. The Andover could well be

the answer to the problem. It is a twin-engined prop-jet aircraft with medium range : at a cruising speed of 250 knots. The Andover was once the Handley-Page Herald, a competitor for the Fokker ■ Friendship in the field of medium-range airliners. As such it showed its paces in New Zealand — but N.A.C. chose the Friendship. In its military transport version. I the Andover, this aircraft regains its likeness to the I Friendship — and has the I same engine-undercarriage : combination. It is suggested that six Andovers, fitted with an up-to-date navigational radar system, could release the Orions for their main task of deep-ocean surveillance, : and could help to close the I inshore corridor. Fast patrols The Navy side of the new :j inter-service effort obviously I requires something faster '(and of longer range than the j recently-purchased fishery | protection craft. These are f good sea-boats (though stated by some crew- ; members to be “a bit short” for deep-sea work in the Tasman and South Pacific), but there are nowhere near enough of them. Interest is being focused on the latest British fisheryprotection craft, a 165-ton fast launch of 130 ft which carries a complement of 32. These small ships of the Tenacity’ class are proving very successful under rugged ; conditions in the North Sea. iThey have dual propula- ! tion, which means that they I I can patrol on diesels at 1 speeds up to 16 knots, reserving their gas turbines for high-speed dashes after: suspected poachers at better than 40 knots. This class carries the! naval designation of “attack I craft”, but its peace-time!

I avocation is entirely fishery I protection, and its only arj mament consists of two j heavy’ machine-guns. Its (range is 2500 sea miles. ; Replacement cost I On one calculation, the cost of refurbishing our , navy and air force to handle : the new task involved in i the adequate policing of 1,400,000 sea miles would be i about $12,000,000. j This would include the purchase of six Tenacity-! j class fishery-protection ves:jsels ($4,500,000) and six Andover aircraft, with spares ($4,000,000), plus the pur-; chase and installation of; maritime reconnaissance equipment.

i.) Secondary problems would t; undoubtedly arise. The e,launches are Decca-equipped 0 and this radar-navigatioi system would probably b<>e suit the Andovers. But the i- Decca system is British r while our Orions are United f States-equipped and designee sto co-operate with the n United States Navy. However, the pattern New s r Zealand is taking may sum i. become a licensing authority - for any ship or groups of eiships wishing either to fish c or to prospect for oil and e rare metals within this are: Licensed vessels would x need to carry proper “identification. and to be riwithin the specified radius e The force as outlined ' would be sufficient to estab '<llish bona tides, and to take e action against poachers.