Former Okaihau student has helm of navy's newest ship

A young naval officer from Okaihau, Lieutenant Jonathan Livingstone Clarkson, will command the New Zealand Navy's newest ship the 55m, 340-tonne inshore patrol vessel HMNZS Taupo.
The Taupo, the fourth and final IPV built at the Tenix shipyard in Whangarei as part of the Government's $550m Project Protector contract, was officially named at a ceremony in Whangarei on Saturday.
In line with the tradition of having ships named by women, the honours went to Her Excellency Susan Satyanand, wife of the Governor General Anand Satyanand.
Lt Clarkson, 31, said Tenix was fitting-out the boat's interior and he expected the navy to take delivery in December or January.
His father, Alan Clarkson, is a veterinarian at Kohukohu, and his mother, Susan, lives near Kaikohe.
After leaving Okaihau College in 1994, Jon completed an engineering degree at Canterbury University. He then worked on a Mitimiti forestry block and at South Island skifields before enlisting with the navy in 2000.
His early service included a 15-month posting to the Royal Navy ship HMS Cardiff with Nato exercises and his first deployment to the North Arabian Gulf.
In 2003, he returned to the Gulf aboard HMNZS Te Mana. The following year he was posted to HMNZS Endeavour supporting other ships in deployments to Australia, Asia and Russia.
His first command, in 2005, was the HMNZS Kahu, a 91.5-tonne ship with a similar hull form to inshore patrol craft built by the Whangarei Engineering Company and launched in 1978.
Most of his 15 months at the helm were on coastal patrols, the highlight a circumnaviga-tion of New Zealand backing Customs operations.
Lt Clarkson, who lives at Devonport with his wife Sally and son Liam, told the Northern Advocate he was proud to be commanding the Taupo, especially as it's affiliated to the Northland region.
He looks forward to patrolling the Northland coast and hopes coverage of the Taupo's activities will encourage young Northlanders to consider joining the navy.
The vessel, which will have a crew of 36, has a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 3000 nautical miles.
Speaking at the naming ceremony, Chief of Navy Rear Admiral David Ledson, said HMNZS Taupo was a name with a proud history in the navy, having been a Loch-class frigate in Korea in 1951-52.
Along with the rest of the navy, he looks forward to welcoming the Taupo and other Whangarei-built inshore patrol vessels the Pukaki, Rotoiti and Hawea to the fleet.
Tenix has said it will close its Port Rd site, with the loss of more than 60 fulltime jobs.