The Lake-class inshore patrol vessel (also known as the ''Rotoiti'' class and the Protector class) is a

ship class A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, is a nuclear aircraft carrier (ship type) of the (ship class). In the course ...

of inshore

patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

s (IPVs) of 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 ...

(RNZN) and the Irish Naval Service which replaced the RNZN's s in 2007–2008. All four vessels are named after New Zealand lakes. Following long-running Navy retention problems in the wake of NZDF "civilianisation", two of the four vessels were tied up, inactive, in a 'Reduced Activity Period' for long periods between 2013 and 2018. In June 2019 the New Zealand Government announced that two of the patrol vessels would be withdrawn from service, and they were decommissioned in October that year.

Design and construction

Conceived as part of Project Protector, the Ministry of Defence acquisition project to acquire one multi-role vessel, two offshore and four inshore patrol vessels. The Project Protector vessels were to be operated by the RNZN to conduct tasks for and with the

New Zealand Customs Service The New Zealand Customs Service (Customs, Māori: ''Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa'') is a state sector organisation in New Zealand whose role is to provide border control and protect the community from potential risks arising from international tra ...

, the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ministry of Fisheries, Maritime New Zealand, and New Zealand Police. The future duties will include maritime surveillance and boarding, support to civilian agencies such as the customs service and search and rescue duties. HMNZS Hawea (P3571) 2007 engine room

The ships were built in Whangarei by

Tenix Defence Tenix Defence was Australia's largest defence contractor with core capabilities in Aerospace, Land, Marine and Electronic Systems applications. BAE Systems announced its intention to acquire the company from Tenix in January 2008 and the acquisiti ...

, and are based on a modified search and rescue vessel for the

Philippine Coast Guard The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ( fil, Tanod Baybayin ng Pilipinas) is recognized as the third armed uniformed service of the country attached to the Philippines' Department of Transportation, tasked primarily with enforcing laws within P ...

, with a different superstructure design. The cost for the four vessels was planned to be NZ$100 million.

Friction stir welding Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process that uses a non-consumable tool to join two facing workpieces without melting the workpiece material. Heat is generated by friction between the rotating tool and the workpiece material ...

was used in the construction of the superstructure, and Donovan Group being the first New Zealand company to use the technique, which is credited as having won them the contract for this part of the vessel's construction.

Capabilities and features

The IPVs will normally be used for inshore tasks within of the coastline. However, they will have operational ranges of . Together with their improved speed, this will be sufficient to intercept, for example, large off-shore

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets th ...

s working illegally in New Zealand waters. Each vessel was intended to achieve 290 available patrol days per year. HMNZS Hawea (P3571) 2007 machine gun

The ships were intended to have the ability to patrol (including receiving

vertical replenishment Vertical replenishment, or VERTREP, is a method of supply of seaborne vessels by helicopter. The United States Department of Defense defines VERTREP as: ...the transfer of cargo between ships using helicopters. VERTREP is often used to supplement ...

) in up to

sea state In oceanography, sea state is the general condition of the free surface on a large body of water—with respect to wind waves and swell—at a certain location and moment. A sea state is characterized by statistics, including the wave height, ...

5 (seas rough, waves ) and have the ability to survive in conditions of up to sea state 8 (seas very high, waves ). However, boat deployment and recovery will be limited to sea state 4 (seas moderate, waves ). These parameters are much more capable than the ''Moa'' class which they replace. The

shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

claims "the vessel is more than capable of extending the Crown's operational envelope to

southern ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

patrol duties".

Irish Naval Service

In August 2021, an article in the Irish Examiner reported that the

Department of Defence (Ireland) The Department of Defence ( ga, An Roinn Cosanta) is the department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for preserving peace and security in Ireland. The department is led by the Minister for Defence. Departmental team The offic ...

is exploring the possibility of purchasing two of the Lake class inshore patrol vessels for the Irish Naval Service. It is reported that the ships would be used for fisheries protection and patrolling in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

following Britain's exit from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. The Lake class vessels are seen as ideal for the calmer conditions of the

, which will allow the larger OPVs of the Irish Naval Fleet to focus on

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

operations. On 13 March 2022 the Irish Department of Defence confirmed the acquisition of the two retired Lake-class IPVs, HMNZS Rotoiti and HMNZS Pukaki for €26 million. The two Lake-class ships will replace the Irish Naval vessels LÉ Orla and LÉ Ciara. Both Lake-class IPVs will undergo restoration work to bring them to Lloyd's Classification in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

before being transported to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 2023. These ships are expected to operate primarily in the

and off Ireland's South East coast and will most likely be based in the port of

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

. The vessels may also undergo an armament upgrade from the current three 12.7mm HMGs, to a 30mm or 40mm main gun.

Ships in class

References

External links