LÉ Gobnait ([ˈɡɔbˠnˠətʲ], GUB-nət) is a Lake-class inshore patrol vessel inshore patrol boat of the Irish Naval Service. Launched as HMNZS Pukaki in 2008, the vessel was in Royal New Zealand Navy service from 2009 to 2019. Its primary duties included border and fisheries protection patrols, surveillance, boarding operations and search and rescue response. It was sold to Ireland in 2022. Together with its sister Rotoiti, Pukaki was renamed and commissioned into Irish service in September 2024.
New Zealand service
Commissioned in 2009, Pukaki was the third ship of this name to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy and is named after Lake Pukaki.
Pukaki was decommissioned at Devonport Naval Base on 17 October 2019. Regulatory changes in 2012 resulted in operating restrictions around speed and sea states being imposed on them. Subsequently the RNZN assessed them as no longer being suited to the heavy seas typically encountered off New Zealand and further afield.[2]
In 2022, Pukaki, along with her sister Rotoiti, was sold to Ireland for use by the Irish Naval Service.[3] Both ships were purchased by Irish Department of Defence for €26m.
Irish service
Pukaki and Rotoiti were transported, from New Zealand to Ireland, by the heavy lift transport ship Happy Dynamic. Arriving in Ireland in May 2023,[4] they were delivered to the Irish naval base at Haulbowline in Cork Harbour where they underwent a refit.[citation needed]
Pukaki was renamed and commissioned into Irish service, as LÉ Gobnait, in September 2024.[5][6][7] The vessel is primarily intended for fisheries protection patrols in the Irish Sea.[8]
