An International Naval Review planned for this weekend in Auckland to mark the celebrations of 75th anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) has been rescheduled to acknowledge those who have been affected in the wake of the devastation of the November 14 earthquake.
This is the single biggest event among a series of many events planned since the beginning of this year to mark the birthday celebrations.
The Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral John Martin, had earlier said, “We celebrate the nation’s commitment to its navy, honour and acknowledge the service of New Zealanders who have served at sea, and look forward with confidence and excitement to the next 75 years.
In a striking coincidence of Royal New Zealand's commitment to New Zealand’s interests and making a difference at home and abroad, the multi-role vessel HMNZS Canterbury, HMNZS Wellington, HMNZS Te Kaha and tanker ship HMNZS Endeavour were dispatched to help evacuate a large number of tourists and residents in Kaikoura and bring aid supplies to the quake-affected areas.
Five other visiting foreign ships have offered to assist in the disaster relief operations and evacuation of stranded tourists in Kaikoura.
Their offer to assist was graciously accepted by the government and ships were despatched to commence evacuation and relief work.
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has accepted offers of help from naval ships from the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and Singapore.
Kaikoura and other North Canterbury towns have been essentially cut off with State Highway 1 road and rail tunnels blocked by slips after a massive 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit New Zealand.
The 15-nation event was originally planned to be held for three days from November 17 to 20 in Auckland, with the entry of the fleet into the Auckland's Waitemata Harbour scheduled on Thursday, November 17.
This fleet entry was later brought forward by 24 hours to Wednesday, November 16, owing to bad weather forecast.
The remaining programme remained as per the original schedule of a “1000-sailor” march down Queen Street on November 18 followed by the formal International Naval Review to be held on November 19 when the Governor-General, Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy, will review the assembled ships in a centuries-old naval tradition.
The Fleet Review will occur on the Waitemata Harbour at 12:30 p.m. and will be completed around 2:30 p.m.
The vessels are berthed either at Ports of Auckland or Devonport Naval Base and will be open for public viewing on November 20.
This year, a naval ship from the United States USS Sampson is visiting New Zealand after 33 years, ending three decades of standoff between the two countries over New Zealand's nuclear-free law.
The US has not sent a naval ship to this country since 1983, as it refuses to say whether its ships are nuclear-armed, as required by New Zealand's nuclear-free law.
Prime Minister John Key had earlier said that he was satisfied the military ship was not nuclear armed or powered after considering official advice thus facilitating smooth entry of the US vessel.
This was only after the US Vice President Joe Biden had before accepted the invitation to send a ship to the Royal NZ Navy 75th anniversary.