2024 Year in Review: Navy

HMNZS Te Kaha builds for deployment

In 2025, HMNZS Te Kaha will deploy to the Arabian Sea as part of Combined Task Force 150, a multi-national maritime task force working to prevent criminal and terrorist organisations moving people, weapons and drugs by sea.

The deployment, the first since 2015, required a substantial work-up from the ship’s company this year, which included a gunnery week and exercises on the east coast of Australia. Part of its preparation was the successful firing of a Sea Ceptor missile, proving the ship’s ability to defend itself and other ships using missiles.

Uncrewed vessel keeps watch

Early in 2024 the Royal New Zealand Navy started a trial of a 6.8-metre renewable-powered ‘Bluebottle’ Uncrewed Surface Vehicle, named Bellona after a cruiser from the 1960s.

Operated from a control room at HMNZS Matataua in Devonport, the vessel boasts a sail with photo-electric cells to drive its motor and electronics, including radar, electro-optic and infra-red cameras.

Bellona proved its worth throughout the year, operating for nearly a month at sea monitoring vessels of interest approaching Tauranga Harbour and establishing ‘pattern of life’ norms in the Firth of Thames, identifying 182 vessels using radar, camera and the international Automatic Identification system.

Solomon Islands election support

HMNZS Canterbury, and two embarked NH90 helicopters from No. 3 Squadron, transported election officers and materials around Solomon Islands, as part of a logistics support package to the Islands’ elections on April 17.

The Joint Task Force covered nearly  29,000km² and visited 43 villages, delivering 105 polling kits and 361 ballot boxes.

Deployable Boarding Teams

HMNZS Matataua’s Deployable Boarding Teams, stood up last year as a specialist capability, proved their ready-to-go nature in providing a boarding resource for Royal Naval patrol vessel HMS Tamar.

An eight-member team embarked in HMS Tamar in Auckland before beginning a sweep of Fiji’s Exclusive Economic Zone for vessels fishing illegally, as well as other illicit activity including poor crew welfare, pollution or involvement in the shark fin trade.

Later in the year, a two-person Deployable Boarding Team embarked in Tamar to provide an Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) capability to support Tamar’s continued fisheries patrols.

Divers tackle World War 2 bombs in Vanuatu

Explosive Second World War relics that have lain underwater in Port Vila Harbour for nearly 80 years were rendered safe by Royal New Zealand Navy divers, operating from HMNZS Manawanui.

The five 1000lb bombs - likely disposed of via a ship at the end of the Second World War - were sitting in around 20 metres of water. Five Maritime Explosive Ordnance Disposal Divers from HMNZS Matataua confirmed the location of the explosive remnants of war, before using a low order charge to crack the bombs open to ensure the least possible damage to the marine environment.

HMNZS Aotearoa – from Hawaii to the South China Sea

For almost five months HMNZS Aotearoa showcased the can-do attitude of the Royal New Zealand Navy.

Starting in June, Aotearoa was part of a combat logistics task force at Exercise Rimpac in Hawaii, then transited to the Korean Peninsula to replenish Navy vessels monitoring violations of United Nations sanctions against North Korea.

Throughout its travels in the Indo-Pacific Aotearoa visited Korea, Japan and Singapore and participated alongside Defence Forces from Australia, Japan, Canada, Germany, Philippines and the United States, strengthening our international ties, demonstrating freedom of navigation and supporting regional stability.

Operation Hiki Ano

Hiki Ano – the Navy’s label for a training surge – saw HMNZS Canterbury make a substantial dent in its training backlog as it travelled down the east coast of New Zealand.

Canterbury practised Landing Craft operations and amphibious beach landing exercises, gunnery and ship handling while No. 3 and No. 6 Squadrons worked on their landings and takeoffs from the ship’s flight deck.

The trip included a ceremonial homeport visit to Lyttelton. Of particular note was the ship hosting 104-year-old World War 2 Navy veteran Lieutenant (rtd) Keith Williamson.

First female divers

For the first time, two female divers have graduated into the Royal New Zealand Navy Clearance Diving trade.

Lieutenant Bethany Ward and Able Diver Petra Dye-Hutchinson were among ten personnel to complete the five month course in July, which provides training in military diving equipment and techniques, mine countermeasures, underwater maintenance and battle damage repair, demolitions, maritime explosive ordnance disposal and high assurance search techniques.

Navy assists with drug seizure

Our Navy teamed up with New Zealand Customs and seized a seven-kilogram shipment of cocaine attached with a magnet to the side of a ship’s hull recently.

The joint operation in April combined our dive and explosives experts as well as Customs maritime, after Customs received information that a commercial vessel heading to New Zealand had a box attached at the stern, which was not part of the ship’s structure.

The ship was escorted to a safe location just outside Auckland where Customs coordinated with our ordnance experts and divers from HMNZS Matataua, who used an uncrewed surface vessel and an aerial drone to monitor and inspect the box.

The box was found to contain an electromagnet, which held it to the ship, and the box was packed with seven kilograms of cocaine, worth up to NZ$3.15 million in New Zealand.

Sinking of HMNZS Manawanui

In October, HMNZS Manawanui grounded and sank off the south west coast of Upolu, Samoa. All 75 crew and passengers safely evacuated the ship. An interim finding of the Court of Enquiry said human error led to the incident. 

Although some diesel fuel did leak following the sinking, the main fuel tanks remain intact and work will shortly commence on the task of fuel and oil recovery.