The ''Moa''-class patrol boat was a class of patrol boats built between 1978 and 1985 for the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

by the Whangarei Engineering and Construction Company. They were based on an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n boat design.

Vessels of the class

Altogether there were seven vessels in the class"RNZN - Inshore Patrol Craft"
RNZN Official Website. Accessed April 17, 2006. The lead vessel, ''Kahu'', was initially named HMNZS ''Manawanui'' from 28 May 1979 to 17 May 1988. She was modified so she would function as a diving tender. After the commissioning of the dedicated Diving Support Tender HMNZS Manawanui (A09) she remained in service (as the Kahu) attached to the Royal New Zealand Naval College as the basic seamanship and navigation training vessel. The next two vessels, '' Tarapunga'' and '' Takapu'', were modified with their superstructure accommodation increased so they could function as inshore survey vessels. These were both decommissioned in the year 2000. The last four vessels functioned as inshore patrol vessels for the Naval Volunteer Reserve. From 1994 these were modified to conduct mine countermeasures route surveying using

side-scan sonar Side-scan sonar (also sometimes called side scan sonar, sidescan sonar, side imaging sonar, side-imaging sonar and bottom classification sonar) is a category of sonar system that is used to efficiently create an image of large areas of the sea ...

. This was used on several occasions for search-and-rescue or transport investigations. In 2005, three vessels were relocated to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

to fill the training gap left by the decommissioning of . ''Kiwi'' relocated to Auckland during 2006. On relocating, the vessels' side scan sonars were removed. With the introduction of the

Project Protector Project Protector was a Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) procurement project that was undertaken during the 2000s. At the start of the decade, the New Zealand government tasked the New Zealand Defence Force to develop an equal combat, peacekeeping, an ...

ships, ''

Moa Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. The term has also come to be used for chicken in many Polynesian cultures and is found in the names of many chicken recipes, such as Kale moa and Moa Samoa. Moa or MOA may also refe ...

'', ''

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also refe ...

'', '' Wakakura'' and '' Hinau'' were replaced by four Protector-class inshore patrol vessels during 2007 and 2008. ''Kahu'' remained in service for

seamanship Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea." It involves topics a ...

and

Officer of the Watch Watchkeeping or watchstanding is the assignment of sailors to specific roles on a ship to operate it continuously. These assignments, also known at sea as ''watches'', are constantly active as they are considered essential to the safe operation o ...

training until 2009. HMNZS Kiwi (P3554)

References

{{reflist Patrol boat classes