 In April 2016 it was reported that "Pukaki" and "Taupo" had not put to sea since 2012 and late 2013 respectively, and the RNZN's website did not identify any activities conducted by "Rotoiti" since July 2012.In April 2016 New Zealand Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee announced that the New Zealand Government was planning to sell the four ships and replace them with an additional offshore patrol vessel.He justified this on the grounds of the ships' low levels of operational availability, and stated that "they've proved themselves to be completely inappropriate for the sort of seas that we have around New Zealand".