GOING ... GOING ... Last steam warship slips to watery grave

Kristin Edge | 5th November 2007

The former navy frigate HMNZS Canterbury has gracefully gone to rest in the waters of the Bay of Islands - but it has yet to be declared safe for divers.

Navy divers were expected to arrive at Deep Water Cove today to search the scuttled 3000-tonne frigate and make sure all explosives had detonated before declaring the ship clear for recreational divers.

Officials expected the navy to finish its inspections late today.

On Saturday thousands watched from up to 800 boats as the Canterbury took less than four minutes to slip 30m underwater after six cutting charges sent the stripped-out hulk to the bottom.

Flames and thick black smoke billowed from the deck after a loud boom. The ship was pre-flooded before the detonation with its bow about a metre down. After the detonation it listed heavily to starboard - sending concerned gasps from spectators on the control vessel - before righting itself and slipping stern-first below the surface.

The last sight of the New Zealand's last steam warship, described as one of the happiest ships in the navy, was the for'ard section of the bow.

Within minutes all that was left was churning white water.

Police divers were in the water 40 minutes after the Canterbury slipped from sight, but due to poor visibility from the disturbed seabed they were unable to verify whether all the charges had exploded.

The UK-based company Cadre One used eight kilograms of explosives - less than half the firepower used to sink any other ex-navy frigate - to try to minimise structural damage to the ship.

Explosives engineer Andrew Lumley said yesterday he was satisfied all the charges had gone off and the navy inspection was just a matter of ``rubber-stamping'.

"We need to confirm all the explosives are gone but I'm confident. The pyrotechnics on the deck were tell-tales that the charges had detonated," he said.

"We have achieved all the goals and the trust is happy. The wreck is in one piece, sitting upright and at the right depth. It's going to be the best dive site in New Zealand."

The wreck is expected to attract marine life, draw divers from around the world and generate millions of dollars for the Bay of Islands.

However, the head of the New Zealand police dive team, Detective Bruce Adams, warned divers should treat the wreck with caution, especially when entering the lower decks of the engine and boiler rooms where there was a lot of congestion.

"It's not to be treated lightly and those wanting to penetrate the hull should be very experienced wreck divers with the appropriate qualifications," he said.

Before detonation at 3.45pm - more than an hour after the scheduled time of 2.30pm - the dive team had to help move spectators outside a 500-metre exclusion zone.

The delay came about because the ship was sinking even before the explosives went off, and had to be stabilised before it was safe for navy dignitaries, kaumatua from Rawhiti Marae and MP Dover Samuels to board for final prayers.

The skirl of bagpipes drifted across the water as retired Bishop Ben Te Haara expressed a final prayer and said: "What belongs to the sea, returns to the sea".

Tears ran down the face of Norm Greenall, a former chief petty officer when the Canterbury was launched in 1970, as the last prayer was read. ``This is the best ship I've served on. This is very emotional and hugely hard,' he said as he struggled to speak.

The blast was set off by Bay of Islands 14-year-old Lucy Hamnett, whose parents paid $19,200 for the privilege in a fundraising auction.

Bay of Islands Canterbury Trust chairman Richard Witehira was relieved the piece of naval history was now safely on the seabed.

"I'm looking forward to a new page being turned and that includes economic development for our people, the Bay of Islands and Northland. I'm confident this reef will attract people from around the world."

Images from a new 3D sonar detector, which was developed in Auckland and is attracting worldwide interest, showed the ship resting in an ideal position for recreational divers.