Dive-wreck frigate ruled off-limits

The wreck of the old frigate Wellington has broken in half off Island Bay in Wellington and has been declared off-limits to divers.

The ship was sunk as an artificial reef and dive zone last November and has been visited by scores of divers. A month after the sinking the trust that sank the ship said it was showing no signs of movement.

However, a storm that swept Wellington's south coast last week snapped the ship in half behind its twin gun turret.

The bow section fell on to its starboard side and was held in place by the eight-tonne anchor that was attached to the bow when it was sunk.

However, the big waves pushed the stern section around and it was now closer to the shore and facing northwest and not south, the direction it was facing when it was sunk, Marco Zeeman, the chairman of the F69 Trust that sunk the ship said yesterday.

A 200m no-dive zone has been declared around the ship until Thursday next week by regional harbour master Captain Mike Pryce.

He said trust and police divers were evaluating the ship.

"There is no navigational risk, but a large number of divers explore the wreck and we need to be sure the F69 is still a safe place to dive," he said.

Mr Zeeman said the ship had broken in half in an identical fashion to another Leander class frigate, the former HMNZS Waikato, sunk as a dive attraction off the Northland Coast at Tutukaka, north of Whangarei.

Last May, Mr Zeeman said Waikato had a known weak spot behind the turret and in front of the bridge. Wellington was a stronger ship.

The stern section, probably about 2000 tonnes, was now lying at right angles to the bow and had moved closer to the shore.

Mr Zeeman said initial observations "suggest that it is unlikely to move any further towards the shore were such a weather event to occur in the coming weeks".

He said the events of the weekend were expected during the life of the ship and were covered fully in the resource consent process.

"It was unfortunate that a 1-in-50-year weather event should occur so soon after she was sunk. However, the fact that the vessel has broken in two is in line with what was expected and consistent with the Waikato."

An Island Bay resident predicted this week that the ship would break in half in the big seas.

Ken Findlay, who swims at the beach every day, said the government and local authorities should cut up the ship and remove it from the seabed.

Mr Findlay was not surprised at the news of the breakup when told about it yesterday.

Debris from the ship washed up from the beach last weekend and Mr Findlay said he knew then it would break up in spite of a conversation he had with Mr Zeeman, who said it would remain intact.

Another local resident, Nick Dryden, said the sea had "made a mockery of man's feeble attempts".

He said the breakup of the ship was inevitable in the big waves. He said it was not a 1-in-50-year storm.

"It was only a 12-hour blow and never really got that big. It was more like a one in three or four times a year storm really."

He said time would tell how far the wreck would move towards the shore.

"I don't see what is going to stop it," he said. "I am not glad about this. I am very sad about this."

- NZPA