The new Minister of Defence says he is still not clear on all the specific problems facing the six undelivered Project Protector ships, but an initial briefing suggests they are significant.
Wayne Mapp said yesterday he expected to know more after a briefing specifically on Project Protector, the problem-riddled Defence procurement project to buy seven new ships for the Royal New Zealand Navy, in the next few weeks.
It was revealed this week that 70 navy crew stationed in Melbourne with new navy ships HMNZS Otago and Wellington have been sent home while the Ministry of Defence and the builders of the ships negotiate alleged contract breaches and the resolution of several "complex" problems.
One of those problems is a weight issue that has the potential to affect the offshore patrol vessels' future capabilities.
Following the problems encountered with HMNZS Canterbury, the Government will accept no more of the ships being built by BAE Systems until outstanding issues are resolved.
Dr Mapp was briefed by MoD staff on wider defence matters this week after being named as minister.
When asked if, given the complexities of the problems, he thought all the contract issues could be ironed out and the ships fixed before the latest reported delivery date of March 31 next year, he responded: "That is a good point.
"Obviously, the ministry, the [New Zealand] Defence Force and the contractor want the ships delivered, but they have not been able to arrive at an agreement yet. Clearly, it is going to take a little while.
"You'd have thought the previous minister would have wanted [the ships] here as soon as he could, before the election, and he couldn't get them here, so that gives you some indication of the seriousness of the matter."
