WELLINGTON, New Zealand: New Zealand's offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington has become the third ship to be put into "care and custody" due to ongoing labor shortages.

The three New Zealand naval ships, Wellington, an offshore patrol vessel, and a smaller patrol vessel for operating close to shore - are sitting idle in port as higher civilian salaries lure personnel out of the military, the country's Defence Force said this week.

The bottom line is "workforce issues are impacting ship availability to deliver naval outputs," an August note from the Chief of the Defence Force, Air Marshal Kevin Short, said. "Risks remain to Naval output delivery if attrition and hollowness cannot be addressed in a timely manner," wrote Short.

The New Zealand Defense Force has just over 15,000 personnel, including civilian staff, and about 2,800 are in the Navy. The Defense Force said in May that it would spend $57 million over four years to raise the salaries of the lowest-paid workers. Officials hope personnel figures will significantly improve by 2026-2027.

Having so few ships available makes it more difficult for the navy to handle multiple challenges at once, a New Zealand Defense Force spokesperson said.

The problem is especially acute as the U.S., Japan, Australia, and other countries in the region square off against China and strive for influence.

New defence spending plans, driven by lessons learned from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, are also taking shape.

New Zealand, which spends roughly 1.5 percent of its GDP on defense, this year announced it would review its own defense policy in light of regional geopolitical changes. The review is not expected to be completed until 2024.

New Zealand's Defense Force is also dealing with aging equipment and a large number of personnel being assigned to border quarantine facilities.

Minister of Defense Peeni Henare acknowledged in an email that staff losses were hurting the Defense Force, but said the government was committed to rebuilding it.