SISTER SHIPS

Waikato Times, Volume 129, Issue 21521, 9 September 1941, Page 6

SISTER SHIPS

HINAU AND RIMU MINESWEEPER TAKES WATER NEW ZEALAND CONSTRUCTION (By Telegraph.—Press Association) AUCKLAND. Tuesday A fortnight after the launching of ; the minesweeper Hinau, her sister ship Rimu was sent down the slip- 1 way today after being christened with a bottle of New Zealand wine by Mrs Parry wife of Commodore W. \ E. Parry, chief of the Naval Staff, j Like that of the Hinau it was a | perfect launch, the stout steel and wooden vessel sliding slowly into the Waitemata. -where she was picked ‘ up by a tug and towed to the fitting- j out basin. A sprig of rata was at the j bow and as the ship gathered speed down the greased ways the New Zealand Ensign, the Union Jack and the White Ensign were broken out aboard amid cheers from the large crowd, while the National Anthem was played. Commodore Parry congratulated all associated with the construction and launching of the ship. Referring to the fact that Auckland had a : substantial shipbuilding industry in the past, he said that although steel had superseded wood there was no reason why larger ships of war, also commercial vessels when the war was over, could not be built in the Dominion. Quoting the case of Japan. Commodore Parry added that the absence of iron should not be a bar. as there was plenty available in Australia. He hoped that New Zealand firms would take advantage of the opportunity. Adaption of Design The Rimu, the second large naval vessel to be built in New Zealand, is to be used in the New Zealand minesweeping service. The Hinau was launched on August 28. The designing was carried out entirely by the technical staff of the Marine Department, Wellington under the supervision of Mr G. E. Breeze, chief surveyor of ships in New Zealand. The adaption of the design from that of the standard Admiralty allsteel minesweeper necessitated a great deal of work, the Hinau and her sister ships being built on the composite principle of kauri planking on a steel frame. The Hinau is 135 ft long, with a breadth of 24ft and a moulded depth of 13ft 6in. Her triple expansion, coal-burning engines will develop about 700 horse-power. The Hinau and her sister ships will be among the largest built in New Zealand yards, and are the forerunners of a fleet of naval minesweepers.