Possibility of French frigates

Press, 18 March 1989, Page 1

Possibility of French frigates

PA Wellington Anti-frigate groups were yesterday claiming a minor victory in the debate for New Zealand to buy alternatives to the proposed Anzac frigates. Government officials were reported to have approached the French frigate builder, Sofraco, within the last month to see if there are cheaper options to the $3OO million Anzac frigates. But the office of the Minister of Defence, Mr Tizard, said he had not approached nor been approached by the company. The Ministry of Defence had been told details of the design but said it had not been directed to look into it.

Sofraco is the local agent for the giant French shipbuilder, Chantiers de L’Atlantique, which recently won a contract to build six Alsthom patrol frigates for the French Navy from next year. The Alsthom frigate, which is a new design, could be built for $154 million, $146 million under the Anzac ship target, and was described as ideal for South Pacific use.

The ships displace 2600 tons, are 93.50 metres long, have a top speed of 25 knots, a long range, carry a helicopter, and are supposed to fall within the design requirements of the Anzac frigates.

The German Meko 200 and Dutch M class frigates being looked at by New Zealand and

Australia are about 118 metres long, displace about 2900 tons, and have a top speed of 27 knots. The Alsthom was cheaper because its hull was built to merchant ship standards and could not be guaranteed for shock or combat damage. The pressure group, Just Defence, said the design was proof that the proposed Anzac frigates were “a truly lousy deal.” “For three years now Just Defence has been suggesting that the Navy should be looking at the 81m British Castle class, which could be built in Whangarei for around $5O-70 million,” a spokesman, Kevin Hackwell, said. “This is considerably cheaper than the French ship and with half the crew requirement it would also be considerably cheaper to run.” However, he said, the Alsthom was still a waste of money because it had a lot of unnecessary equipment. A Sydney-based representative of Chantiers de I’Atlantique was reported to have had talks with the Whangarei Engineering Company earlier this week about whether it could handle construction of four Alsthom frigate hulls. Wellington’s “Evening Post” reported that the representative thought Whangarei was a logical building site for the Alsthom, and if the ship was chosen, suitable credit arrangements could be made for the company which was now in receivership.