Still ‘no comment’ on refit

Press, 24 August 1988, Page 10

Still ‘no comment’ on refit

By

DAVE WILSON

The Cabinet on Monday discussed the refit of H.M.N.Z.S. Southland, but will not tell the Navy when a decision will be made on the refit. A blanket “no comment” has been imposed on the subject by the office of the Minister of Defence, Mr Tizard. Naval sources were told that the Cabinet had discussed the refit but the tenon? of the discussions was'wcret and no indica-

tion of a decision was available. The Navy and the tenderers for the work say the Government is rapidly running out of time while a decision on whether the refit will be done at Lyttelton or at a British shipyard is delayed. Tender prices are valid only until August 31 and if the Government decides to abandon the refit the Navy says H.M.N.Z.S. Southland as an operational warship will die in

January. The boiler tubes at the heart of the Southland’s propulsion system officially run out of service life in January with the super-heater tubes that drive auxiliary machinery due to expire soon afterwards. The naval public relations officer, Lieutenant Lawrence Tye, said a “do nothing” option in the refit controversy would keep the Southland alive for only five months.

Lieutenant Tye said that if the Government recalled the tenders, the whole tender process would have to be gone through again. Mr Bill Dolan, managing director of Sinclair Melbourne, one of two New Zealand firms seeking the contract, said that in that situation it could be another month before British and New Zealand firms repriced the work and. submitted their tenders.'

H.M.N.Z.S. Southland, formerly H.M.S. Dido of the Royal Navy, was bought by New Zealand in 1983 and underwent a refit in Britain that year before sailing to New Zealand. The refit now being proposed would keep the Southland “alive” into the early 1990 s when, with H.M.N.Z.S. Waikato, the vessel is marked for replacement by the first of the proposed Australianbuilt Anzac frigates.