US Navy command ship arrives in Wellington
A large US warship has arrived in Wellington's harbour, making the first visit to the city by a US naval vessel since 2021.
The nearly 200-metre long USS Blue Ridge arrived in the city this morning.
The command ship, and flagship of the 7th US Fleet, was full of sensors, as opposed to missiles and shells. It was commissioned in 1970 and is the oldest operational ship in the US Navy.
The nearly 200-metre USS Blue Ridge arrived in the city this morning. (Source: 1News)
During the visit, leadership from the vessel would meet with their Kiwi counterparts to discuss ways of improving operational readiness, advancing future military capabilities, and growing the US and New Zealand's bilateral relationship overall.
Crew from the shop would spend the day participating in various in-port activities, including band performances, community relations events, ship tours, and tourist sightseeing.
The ship would be off-limits to the public, however.
Vice Admiral Fred Kacher, commander, US 7th Fleet, said the visit spoke to the US and New Zealand's "deep ties".
'Our partnership is rooted in our common values and respect, and our visit here represents an important opportunity for us to further strengthen the bond between our nations and our navies.'
The ship's visit comes months after Chinese warships engaged in live-firing drills in the Tasman Sea.
US defence analyst Derek Grossman told 1News that Blue Ridge's visit was a "good sign" of the two countries' security partnership.
"I think it's symbolic, but I also think it's indicative of the strengthening partnership with an eye towards countering China in the Indo-Pacific."
Grossman said he "wouldn't be surprised" if the visit was partially in response to China's live fire drills, but said it was more symbolic of an "increasing alignment in the perspectives of Wellington and Washington".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
8 hours ago
- Scoop
We're In The Eye Of The Storm, As Tailwinds Become Headwinds
Last week was very much a US story. To be fair, these day's that's become the norm. But between friendship fallouts, and a number of slowing US indicators, there was plenty to digest. We've seen a front loading of activity in anticipation of tariffs. And we may now be seeing the start of the unwind. Both of which cloud what's happening to the actual trend growth beneath. There has been a shock to sentiment, and conditions are deteriorating. Our COTW takes a look at the slowdown in US output, but rise in inflationary pressure. Here's our take on current events We're officially one month away from the end of the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs. And so far, we've had one deal. One. It's with the UK, and it's with loose ends. We would have expected many more by now. And still hope for many more to come between now and July 9th. But if the current track record is anything to go by, it's painfully slow. We remain in limbo. And President Donald Trump's attention seems to be elsewhere, with his very public breakup with Elon Musk. Beyond the playground drama, the US economy is starting to pay the price of the tariff turmoil environment. We've been waiting and watching, trying to gauge the tariff impacts. And it feels like we're in the eye of the storm. We know, mostly anecdotally, that there has been a lot of front-loading. Car sales for example, surged in March, only to fall off a cliff in April. And we've seen a further pullback in Chinese sourced goods over the month of May. The front loading of activity, and growth, is common sense. We saw similar reactions when GST was introduced. If you know a tax hike (GST or tariff) is coming, you buy now, not after. The inflation gauge spikes, temporarily, and then returns to levels seen before the tax hike. So, what we saw in the first half of the year, was a confused front loading. And what we'll see over the second half, is an unwind. In fact, we're possibly already seeing that unwind now. Monthly trade data out of the US last week showed signs that the recent front loading of imports into the US may be coming to an end. The US trade deficit over April narrowed 55.5% - the most on record- led by a record 16.3% decline in imports. And the value of US imports from China fell to its lowest level since the early months of pandemic when borders were physically shut. Nevertheless, as economists, it's difficult to strip out the likely front loading from the actual trend growth beneath. And it's equally difficult to strip out the unwind. So, growth may be rosy for now, and bleak a little later. So, what do you do? Well, we turn to sentiment indicators. And there has been a shock to sentiment, as you'd expect given all the uncertainty. Last week we saw a fall across US PMI surveys indicating a contraction in activity. See our COTW for more, but essentially the surveys can be summed up simply as firms are facing weaker activity but persistent inflation pressures. That's painful. Everything that happens in an economy washes out in the labour market. If we're growing, businesses hire. If we're stalling, businesses retrench. The US payrolls report is the 'glamour stat'. The red carpet gets rolled out on the first Friday of every month, and camera crews fight for a glimpse into the labour market. Well last month's report was released on Friday, and the labour market is bending, not breaking. Payrolls have softened but not dramatically, with 139k for month of May (with consensus 120k). The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%, while the level of underemployment held steady. That's good. And wages posted a solid gain of 3.9%. Again, that's good. But we're sitting here knowing it's still way too early to see the full impacts of the tariffs. And there are some questions around the strength of the payrolls report, with the ADP (a pre-payrolls payrolls report) declining noticeably this year, to just 37k last month. Conditions have weakened… but we're in the eye of the storm. We felt some tailwinds to start, with pre-loading, and face headwinds ahead, as the full force of the tariffs come through. This week we get the US inflation report for May. We haven't seen impact of tariffs in the data yet. But we're watching. US surveys show higher, or elevated, inflation is expected, but it is not yet in the hard data. Chart of the Week: US firms are feeling the heat. Cracks in the US economy are starting to form. The recent flow of high-frequency data isn't looking too good. The ISM surveys for the month of May were especially disappointing. The manufacturing PMI fell from 48.7 to 48.5, the lowest in six months. And majority of its components also signalled contraction (a reading below 50). The new export orders fell 3pts, while production contracted for the third straight month and remains well below pre-covid levels. At the same time, the prices paid sub-index expanded for the fourth straight month, and the supplier deliveries sub-index rose 2pts suggesting a hoarding of inputs ahead of tariff escalation. The services PMI posted a deeper slide in May. Economic activity in the sector contracted for the first time since June 2024, with the index plunging 1.7pts and slipping into contractionary territory. The drop in the headline index reflected a plunge in the new orders component, down 5.9pts. And the prices paid sub-index increased to the highest level in 30months. Across both surveys, it's clear that output is beginning to slow, while inflationary pressures are heating up.
National Business Review
12 hours ago
- National Business Review
Green Party reacts to Rich List with further calls for wealth tax
The Green Party has reiterated its call for a wealth tax after the 2025 NBR Rich List, released today, revealed the country's leading wealth creators are now collectively worth more than $100 billion. The latest NBR Rich List profiles 119 Kiwi individuals and families who are building enterprises,
1News
16 hours ago
- 1News
Nationwide public transport card delayed again, minister 'concerned'
Transport Minister Chris Bishop has urged officials to get "back on track" as fresh delays hit the roll-out of NZTA's new national public transport ticketing system. The Motu Move system was supposed to launch in Timaru and Temuka by mid-2025, but has since been delayed due to "challenges with delivery". Transport officials didn't provide an updated date for when the new card would actually launch, when queried this week. It's the third missed launch target the project has faced in the past nine months. The setback comes as an independent review has been launched into the National Ticketing Solution (NTS) by the programme's governance group. ADVERTISEMENT Bishop told 1News he met with the group to "stress" the significant sums being spent and to encourage them "to exercise leadership to get the project back on track". Chris Bishop said he wants the governance group to "exercise leadership". (file image). (Source: Getty) A spokesperson for NZTA said: "Work is underway to understand the options with a revised delivery plan for Canterbury expected to be confirmed in the next few months. "The National Ticketing Solution team is also working on a revised regional roll-out plan and timeline for the rest of the country. This is expected to be confirmed in August." The NTS project will replace all transit cards used on buses, trains and ferries around the country with a single national card, which will be branded under "Motu Move". It will include the phasing out of several existing payment methods, including Snapper in Wellington, Metrocard in Christchurch and Bee cards. The project has cost $146 million since 2018, according to figures up until December and released to the Taxpayers Union. NTS has been budgeted to cost $1.3 billion over 15 years. ADVERTISEMENT An initial December 2024 launch date in Timaru and Temuka - a smaller region with relatively limited public transport services - was pushed to early this year and then mid-2025. A January launch date for Greater Christchurch was also delayed to September. It follows a tortured multi-year process to develop the national smartcard system, which includes the ability to pay with contactless debit cards and smartphones. Kiwis will have the option of paying for public transport with their debit or credit card, or digital payment method. (Source: 1News) Bishop said he was "concerned" about the programme and "delays to rolling it out". "I have recently met with the National Ticketing Solution governance group to stress the significant investment the Government is making in the project, and to encourage them to exercise leadership to get the project back on track," he said in a statement. "The group has commissioned an independent review into the project to identify opportunities for improvement in the programme, and I expect to receive a copy of its findings in July, along with a plan to deliver the project." 'Alternative delivery approach' being considered ADVERTISEMENT In December, a "pilot" of the system was deployed on one bus line in Christchurch, which allowed people to use contactless cards to tap on if they were paying adult fares. The pilot hasn't included the wide distribution or use of Motu Move cards. An NZTA spokesperson said findings from the pilot would be used to potentially roll out "features" of the new system sooner in "phases". "The NTS programme team has been exploring alternative delivery approaches for Canterbury to implement Motu Move features in phases, building on the success of the contactless payments pilot on the route 29 bus." A Motu Move card reader. (Source: Supplied) They said the independent review of the programme was "expected to be completed with a final report presented to the NTS governance board at the end of July". The most recent delay follows a long development process for the smartcard system, which has been put together by NZTA in various forms since 2009. Subsequent developments have seen a litany of delays and posited launch dates scrapped. In March, Bishop was briefed that US system supplier Cubic was bringing in "additional capacity" to "accelerate progress" on the project after the first set of recent delays. ADVERTISEMENT Release one testing of the system was expected to be finished in early May, the Transport Minister was told at the time. Meanwhile, a review carried out on the NTS project in October found "significant issues already exist requiring management attention", according to a brief summary provided by NZTA. The agency refused to release a full copy of the report to 1News. The review came shortly before the roll-out was first delayed from its December target. It also concluded the programme was "well governed, led and resourced" and that the significant issues were "viewed as resolvable at the time of the review".
