NZ quietly deploys Navy ship to Solomon Islands

New Zealand has deployed a Navy ship to the Solomon Islands to help peacekeeping efforts after political unrest in the capital, Honiara.

The decision to deploy HMNZS Wellington to the mission was not formally announced by the Government or Defence Force and emerged only after inquiries from Stuff.

The armed offshore patrol vessel left Devonport Naval Base in Auckland just before 7.30pm on Monday with a crew of 80 and a Seasprite helicopter on board.

A Defence Force spokesman said it would arrive in the waters of the Solomons later in the week, where it would take over patrolling from an Australian ship.

Wellington recently returned from fisheries patrols in the Pacific.

It would conduct maritime security patrols around the islands of Guadalcanal for a mission taking up to a month, the spokesman said.

‘‘HMNZS Wellington will provide reassurance to Solomon Islands people by providing a visible maritime patrol presence and also, if requested by Solomon Islands authorities, will be able to assist with embarking Royal Solomon Islands Police Force or other partner nations’ authorised personnel to conduct boarding and inspections of suspicious vessels,’’ the spokesman said.

There were fears of renewed violence in Honiara on Monday as embattled prime minister Manasseh Sogavare, who requested international assistance for his government, survived a vote of no confidence brought by the opposition.

However, Kiwi police officers on the ground reported a sense of calm in Honiara.

The first Defence Force personnel arrived in the capital on Thursday, several days after the arrival of troops and officers from Australia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

During the height of the unrest in the last week of November, police arrested more than 100 people and pulled three bodies from a burned-out building.

Sogavare has been widely criticised by political leaders for cutting diplomatic ties with Taiwan, favouring mainland China.