Monday 18 December, 2006

The keel was formally laid for the second Inshore Patrol Vessel, HAWEA, in Whangerei on Wednesday 13 December. HAWEA is affiliated to the Greymouth/Westport - West Coast region and is one of four In Shore Patrol Vessels being built for the Navy under Project Protector.

A giant truck and trailer unit gently moved Module 3 of IPV2 (HAWEA) on to the consolidation bay on Wednesday. Module 3 is the central module of five which make up the HAWEA's hull. HAWEA will be the second of New Zealand's multi agency fleet of Inshore Patrol Vessels which form part of Project PROTECTOR, a project which will provide a significant capability for a range of Government agencies and the Navy to protect New Zealand's maritime borders.

After Module 3 was placed in position, the central dock block was lowered, and a coin was placed into a special cavity carved into the wooden dock block; the block was then hammered home.

The Keel Laying Ceremony dates back hundreds of years to when a talisman was inserted into the keel of a vessel at the start of the build to protect the ship builders and future seafarers from bad luck. This tradition takes many forms in modern shipbuilding today. At Tenix Group the talisman is a coin placed under the keel of the vessel, in this case a special edition New Zealand silver five dollar coin which was retrieved at launch and will be presented to the ship's company at a later date.

ENDS

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