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April 2011 www.sname.org/sname/mt Pukaki, and Taupo . By extensively using commercial shipbuilding standards rather than military, the RNZN purchased all seven ships for $500 million NZ ($380 million US) which is less than the cost of one Anzac frigate. The Project Protector vessels are only required to operate in low military threat environments; therefore, it was not neces- sary for them to have expensive military requirements for aspects of the design such as shock, low signature, or weapon attack survivability. As a result, they were con- structed primarily with standard marine commercial o the shelf equipment and in accordance with conventional ship classi- cation society rules. is approach yielded considerable cost savings for the project compared to equivalent-size combat vessels. Long-range missions The Otago and Wellington OPVs were designed to carry out long-range patrol missions in New Zealands exclusive eco- nomic zone (EEZ), the southern oceans, and into the Pacic. e vessels are designed to Lloyds Ice Class 1C standards, making them capable of patrolling to the edge of the ant- arctic pack ice in the Ross Sea during the summer season. To reach these remote loca- tions, the vessels have a total range of more than 6,000 nautical miles and can be refu- eled at sea if longer range is required. The OPV missions often include joint operations with other government depart- ments including the Ministry of Fisheries, police, Maritime New Zealand, and the Department of Conservation. e principal missions for the OPVs are r N B S J U J N F D P V O U F S U F S S P S J T N r T V S W F J M M B O D F B O E S F D P O O B J T T B O D F r T V S G B D F D P O U B D U E F U F D U J P O J E F O U J ê D B -tion, interception, and boarding r B Q Q S F I F O T J P O B O E F T D P S U P G W F T T F M T r N B S J U J N F T F B S D I B O E S F T D V F r G J T I F S J F T B O E F O W J S P O N F O U B M M B X enforcement r T N V H H M J O H J O U F S E J D U J P O In order to carry out these missions, the OPVs are tted with a ight deck and hangar amidships for the navys Seasprite SH2G helicopter, and high-speed rigid-hull inatable boats (RHIBs) (rescue boats) are tted port and starboard for vessel inter- ception and boarding. The flight deck is configured for day and night operations including a landing grid and traversing system, which enables helicopters to be operated in sea conditions up to sea state 5. e hangar is also equipped with a work- shop for light helicopter maintenance and the ships contain helicopter fuel storage and refueling systems. The 7.4 m long RHIBs have heave com- pensating davits that enable the boats to be launched and recovered in sea con- ditions up to sea state 5. The davits are a proven design developed for offshore service vessels in the North Sea and are located near midships on both sides of the vessel in order to minimize the effect of vessel motions and maximize their oper- ability window. Seakeeping capability is one of the most important performance parame- ters for offshore patrol vessels. During the development of the hull form, good seakeeping performance was emphasized and achieved by using an established hull form from STXs previously designed OPVs for the Irish Naval Service. The hull form was lengthened and extensive model testing was completed to ensure low motions and high operability for ves- sels of their size. Otago and Wellington are capable of carrying out patrol missions in The Project Protector vessels are only required to operate in low military threat environments. Otago arrives at Devonport Naval Base in Auckland, New Zealand.