Aotearoa completes Indo-Pacific mission

From Hawaii to the South China Sea, HMNZS Aotearoa’s 2024 Operation Crucible deployment has been a successful reaffirmation of New Zealand’s partnerships on the water.

29 October, 2024

Aotearoa returned to Devonport on 25 October after 135 days away, with family and friends waiting on Calliope Wharf to welcome the crew home. Navy colleagues greeted the ship’s company with a haka, who responded with their own.

For Commanding Officer Commander Rob Welford, his return to Devonport was exactly one year and one day since he took command of Aotearoa, and the second time he has brought Aotearoa home from South East Asia. He took command of Aotearoa in Singapore towards the end of the ship’s 2023 deployment.

CDR Welford says he could not be prouder of his ship’s company.

“Our many successes with multiple countries, including some ‘firsts’ for the ship like an eight-hour refueling of USS Boxer, shows how Aotearoa continues to be the ‘tanker of choice’ in delivering an operational effect for our Defence partners.

“In all our engagements and taskings, Aotearoa’s sailors have had a smile on their face and put 100 per cent effort into everything they have done. I couldn’t ask for more.”

Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, Major General Rob Krushka, and RNZN Maritime Component Commander, Commodore Shane Arndell, were in Devonport to meet and talk with the crew of Aotearoa.

MAJGEN Krushka and CDRE Arndell wanted to convey the NZDF and the Navy’s thanks to the ship’s company for a lengthy mission professionally conducted.

CDRE Arndell says Aotearoa’s accomplishments shows the Royal New Zealand Navy is a highly trained blue-water navy with the personnel and platforms to make a tangible contribution on the world stage supporting the international rules-based system.

“There will be plenty more of these opportunities for our sailors in coming months allowing them to be at the sharp end of operations, and that’s exactly why they joined,” he says.

“This has been a long time away for the crew of Aotearoa but they should be incredibly proud of what they’ve achieved.”

Aotearoa returned to Devonport on 25 October after 135 days away, with family and friends waiting on Calliope Wharf to welcome the crew home.

Aotearoa returned to Devonport on 25 October after 135 days away, with family and friends waiting on Calliope Wharf to welcome the crew home.

Aotearoa returned to Devonport on 25 October after 135 days away, with family and friends waiting on Calliope Wharf to welcome the crew home.

Aotearoa returned to Devonport on 25 October after 135 days away, with family and friends waiting on Calliope Wharf to welcome the crew home.

Aotearoa returned to Devonport on 25 October after 135 days away, with family and friends waiting on Calliope Wharf to welcome the crew home.Scroll to previous imageScroll to next image

Exercise Rimpac

HMNZS Aotearoa arrived early to Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2024 (RIMPAC 2024) in Hawaii on June 23, ready to work with four other replenishment ships as part of Combined Task Force 173, RIMPAC’s combat logistics task force.

Aotearoa’s early arrival meant it could conduct Replenishment at Sea (RAS) trials with commercial tanker MV Allied Pacific, both alongside and then at sea. Being able to receive fuel from a commercial tanker while at sea was a brand-new capability for Aotearoa.

Aotearoa received a total of 13,386,000 litres of F76 Diesel Fuel and passed a total of 6,384,000 litres of F76 diesel fuel and 460,000 litres of aviation fuel to customer ships both inside and outside the exercise.

Aotearoa conducted RAS operations with 16 partner ships, including a concurrent RAS with United States destroyer USS Sterett and Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver.

A significant highlight was replenishing USS Boxer, an Amphibious Assault Ship sailing to Asia for its operational deployment.

It meant Boxer had to be stationed 45m off Aotearoa’s port beam for 8.5 hours while close to 3 million litres of diesel fuel and 350,000 litres of aviation fuel were pumped across.

It was both the longest replenishment and largest ship ever replenished by Aotearoa.

HMNZS Aotearoa participated in Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 24.

Korean Peninsula

Aotearoa’s deployment shifted to Japan and North Korea to contribute to the monitoring of United Nations Security Council Resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. During its four-week involvement, Aotearoa’s role was to replenish international navy vessels patrolling the Korean Peninsula.

During the transit Aotearoa enjoyed the company of Vancouver, with both ships conducting a variety of manoeuvres and swapping crew members to experience life on board another nation’s vessel.

Aotearoa conducted port visits to Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan.

Multilateral exercises

Aotearoa continued its support of partner navies during its passage south to Singapore. It conducted replenishments and manoeuvres with South Korea, Japan, Germany, Australia, the Philippines and the United States, including taking part in a Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity international exercise in the South China Sea, designed to strengthen interoperability in the maritime context. It included a concurrent replenishments with returning customer USS Boxer and USS Comstock, and with destroyers USS Howard and HMAS Sydney.

HMNZS Aotearoa conducting a Dual-Replenishment at Sea with HMAS Sydney and USS Howard. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship JS Sazanami sails behind. Photo: Royal Australian Navy

Taiwan Strait transit

Aotearoa sailed through the Taiwan Strait with Sydney on the afternoon of 25 September, en route to a port visit in Singapore.

Maritime Component Commander CDRE Shane Arndell said this was a routine movement from one point in the Indo-Pacific to another.

“The New Zealand Defence Force conducts all activities in accordance with international law and best practice. This was a routine activity, consistent with international law, including the right of freedom of navigation as guaranteed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”

The last previous transit of the Taiwan Strait, en route to Qingdao, China was conducted by HMNZS Te Kaha in 2017.

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Ex-Royal Navy commander praised for saving lives after New Zealand naval ship sinks

7th October 2024 at 12:33pm

HMNZS Manawanui had been under the command of ex-Royal Navy officer Commander Yvonne Gray (Picture: New Zealand Navy Today)

A former Royal Navy officer who now serves in the Royal New Zealand Navy has been praised for her decision to evacuate everyone aboard the stricken HMNZS Manawanui. 

Commander Yvonne Gray gave the order for all hands to abandon ship when it ran aground and caught fire off the coast of Samoa – it then listed heavily and 12 hours later was entirely submerged

Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Garin Golding, said she made the “right decision” to evacuate the 75 people aboard, which “saved lives”.

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He added: “Evacuating a ship at night is an incredibly complex and dangerous task.”

Defence Minister Judith Collins says a Court of Inquiry will establish how the Navy ship crashed into a reef.

She called the evacuation “something of a triumph, frankly”, given the difficult conditions.

The decision of Cdr Gray to abandon ship has been praised as all 75 crew and passengers were rescued (Picture: Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority)

Originally from Harrogate in Yorkshire, Cdr Gray took the helm of the RNZN’s dive, hydrographic and salvage vessel HMNZS Manawanui in December 2022.

Her career began in the Royal Navy when she joined in 1993, after spending university holidays at a Sea Cadet facility in the Lake District.

She spent most of her junior career at sea, including on the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible and the minehunters Walney, Bridport and Cromer, after specialising as a Mine Warfare Officer.

After completing the Principal Warfare Officer course in 2004, she joined HMS Westminster as the PWO (Underwater) and Operations Officer, with operational experience in West Africa, Northern Europe and the Gulf.

Cdr Gray said taking command of HMNZS Manawanui in December 2022 ‘was that opportunity that made my eyes light up’ (Picture: Royal New Zealand Navy)

Following a posting to the Maritime Warfare Centre in Portsmouth, she took the opportunity in 2009 to work with the Royal Australian Navy at HMAS Watson, Sydney.

Cdr Gray then moved to New Zealand in 2012 after a campervan holiday where she and her wife fell in love with the country.

Speaking to New Zealand’s Navy Today magazine in 2022, she said: “How do we get to live here, we asked ourselves,” adding: “The most obvious thing was to apply to join the Royal New Zealand Navy.”

On taking command of HMNZS Manawanui, Cdr Gray said: “It was that opportunity that made my eyes light up.”

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Royal New Zealand Navy takes out top prize at 47th Roy Smith Memorial Trophy Competition

Intricate knife skills, specialised cooking techniques and refined plating skills were on display at the annual 47th Roy Smith Memorial Trophy Competition last week.

02 October, 2024

Five teams from the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), New Zealand Army, and teams from the Australian Defence Force competed in the two-day fine dining competition at Devonport Naval Base, which aims to foster catering excellence in the New Zealand Defence Force and across the ditch.

Chefs, or caterers as they are known in the NZ Army, are responsible for delivering nutritious meals whether at home on exercises or away on operations, on ships, or in a tented field kitchen. The competition gives soldiers and sailors an opportunity to learn from each other and strengthen their trade, so they can support personnel to carry out their vital work.

The RNZN team took out the coveted Roy Smith Trophy and Able Chef Jaimee McGahey says she’s ‘over the moon’ to have been part of the winning team.

“I always wanted to be a chef and when I joined the Navy straight from school, I listed chef, chef and chef as my options for what trade I was going to enter,” said the 21-year-old from Papamoa.

“I was most excited about my dessert, which was a blood orange and chocolate bavarois. It was my first time making it so I practised for about a week leading up to the competition. The biggest challenge is you have a clock running in the background which puts the pressure on while you’re competing, but I just thought, it’s just a timer, it’s not like a bomb is going to go off,” she says.

Warrant Officer First Class (WO1) Manu Ferguson, from the Defence Catering School, is the competition controller and says it’s an honour to be part of the historic competition.

“The competition started in 1977, so it’s been a running a long time. I started off in the catering school when I first joined the Army, going from student to now being the chief instructor is an honour and it feels like coming full circle. For me, it’s more than just a cooking competition, it’s a way of life. It teaches our people about team work, work ethic, commitment, and it gives our young soldiers and sailors a chance to be a part of history,” he says.

Each team is made up of two chefs, a front of house steward, a coach and a manager. Over the two days, the front of house is tested on stewarding, serving, setting tables, making cocktails and mocktails and the communication skills between themselves and the chefs.

“There’s one round that focuses on kitchen work, including health and safety around food preparation, team work in the kitchen and the serving of plated up meals. The competition culminates with an eight-course meal, blind-judged by the Defence Force Catering School instructors and also served to diners,” WO1 Ferguson said.

Able Seaman Maritime Logistics Support Operator Harley Seckold, Personal Staff to the Australian Governor-General says he had a positive experience taking part in the competition.

“This is the second time that an ADF tri-service team has participated but it’s my first time in New Zealand and participating in the competition. It’s been great, working with foreign military teams, seeing how everyone does things, having fun, building camaraderie and international naval relations. It’s good watching how the RNZN teams work and bringing any pointers from the winning back to Australia so we can be stronger competitors next year.”

Warrant Officer Ferguson said working with our Anzac partners across the Tasman was vital for international engagement.

“We work with them in operations and field exercise, both land and sea and this is another way we can enhance our relationship,” he said.

Lance Corporal Storm Van Zyl from 2^nd Combat Service Support Battalion (2CSSB) at Linton Military Camp competed as a chef in last year’s winning team and this year she’s trying her hand at front of house. 

“It’s great seeing everyone’s ideas and learning how other people work. It’s really cool working with Australia as well. I competed at an Australia Defence catering competition called Exercise Golden Plate competition last year in Brisbane. It was a competition based in the field rather than fine dining; more like adventure dining, shooting, going on big walks and then cooking, but it was great learning. This year I’m more nervous about serving coffee in front of house in case it spills over anyone.”

The following teams participated in the 2024 competition:

• Royal New Zealand Navy team
• 2^nd Combat Service Support Battalion, New Zealand Army, Linton Military Camp
• 3^rd Combat Service Support Battalion, New Zealand Army, Burnham Military Camp
• Australian Army 17^th Sustainment Brigade team
• Australian Defence Force Combined team

The category winners for 2024:

• 1^st year Chef – Private Taygon Jean-Louise
• 2^nd Year Chef – Lance Corporal Emily Chamberlin
• Quizzene Cup – RNZN
• Murray Ross – 2CSSB
• Harvey Bourne – 17^th Sustainment Brigade – Australian Army
• Dave Murray – Leading Hospitality Specialist Andre’a Falchi
• Fretwell Downing – RNZN
• Roy Smith – RNZN
• Te Ope Katua O Aotearoa – 17^th Sustainment Brigade – Australian Army

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RNZN – Strength in numbers for PTIs

Strength and mobility combined with legacy and symbolism when Devonport’s Physical Training Instructors combined for a photoshoot.

19 September, 2024

Physical Training Instructors (PTIs) are seen as inventive moral boosters, even if a bit of sweat is involved.

So it was hardly surprising when Devonport Naval Base’s PTIs got imaginative when they requested a staff photo.

They wanted to pay homage to the staged images of the 1950s and 1960s, where PTIs demonstrated improbable feats that blended acrobatics and gymnastics.

Leading Physical Training Instructor Hayden Rogers, based at the Fleet Fitness Training Centre, says there is still that aspect of gymnastics with PTIs, but times have changed. Mobility and strength are key factors.

Physical Training Instructors at the Fleet Gym, Devonport, in a set piece for their staff picture.

And it’s not all Navy at the Fleet Gym; the instructor in the photo wearing Multi-Terrain Pattern (green camouflage) pants is NZ Army, posted to the gym.

“That, and the red shirts, show that we are a tri-service trade. We’re all the same, apart from the different insignia. The red is also handy because it means instructors don’t blend in with the trainees.”

In the photo, the PTIs are holding crossed Indian clubs. It’s the trade symbol of Navy PTIs, who are known as ‘club swingers’ due to the legacy of a Navy exercise technique.

Originating in colonial India, Indian Club Swinging is a form of rhythmic and circular weight training while gripping two clubs. It was adopted by militaries, including the Royal Navy, as an upper body exercise. It became a fitness fad worldwide in the early 19th Century.

“The clubs shown are gifts from PTI and they are more for show, but they have a great backstory. When the Royal Navy adopted it as part of their training regimen, the Royal New Zealand Navy naturally copied it. If you come into the Fleet Gym, just on the right at the entrance there’s a good write-up about it.”

The photo was tremendous fun, he says.

“There’s not many times we can all get together, especially when there’s a lot going on and we’re everywhere. I currently look after facilitating inter-unit sports and assist in the running of inter-services sport. We’ve even got an E-Sport competition going on next month.”

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New Warrant Officer of the Navy

A Tokomaru Bay man has been appointed as the Royal New Zealand Navy’s top sailor.

18 September, 2024

Warrant Officer Communications Warfare Specialist Darren Crosby, Ngāti Porou, is the new Warrant Officer of the Navy. His role is an advisor to the Chief of Navy, to speak for the sailors, and elevating any matters affecting the people, command, leadership and management of the Regular and Reserve Forces. He is the 10^th Warrant Officer in the role, which is for three years. 

He joined the Navy on his 19^th birthday, 1 June 1988, as a radio operator.

“I had wanted to join the Navy since I was at intermediate school after I visited frigate HMNZS Wellington during an open day in Gisborne. After finishing at Gisborne Boys’ High School I went to the Gisborne Recruiting Office and started my application.”  His recruiter was Warrant Officer Reece Golding, the father of current Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding.

From his first posting, frigate HMNZS Southland, WOCWS Crosby served in frigates HMNZS Te Mana, Te Kaha, Canterbury and Wellington. He was promoted to Warrant Officer in 2007 and has held Warrant Officer positions as the Devonport Naval Base Whole Ships Coordinator, Career Manager for the Operations Trades, Warrant Officer Leadership Development and the Command Warrant Officer to the Deputy Chief of Navy.

He describes his best experiences as two consecutive Multinational Interception Force deployments to the Arabian Gulf, enforcing a United Nations embargo on Iraq in HMNZS Wellington in 1995, then HMNZS Canterbury in 1996. It was first time the RNZN had operated in the area.

 He says he is both humbled and proud to take up the role, and by the many messages of congratulations. One of them this week was from the former 7^th former who just beat him for the Head Boy position at Gisborne Boys’ High.

“I acknowledge the kaitiaki and mahi of our previous WONs – ka pai te ahi! There’s a deep sense of pride and duty in upholding the Navy’s proud traditions. The responsibility of advocating and supporting our sailors and their families is really important to me.”

He says in looking to the future, it is essential to reflect on where the Navy has come from. “It’s the sacrifices, the successes, and the dedication that have brought us to this this point. Our history is not just a record of the past; it is the foundation upon which we build our future.

“Our Navy has a proud tradition of service, excellence and commitment to Aotearoa. But as we look to the future, we must be prepared to evolve, to strengthen and harden, and to lead in new and innovative ways of doing business.”

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JS SENDAI conducted a Japan-New Zealand bilateral exercise.

JS SENDAI conducted a Japan-New Zealand bilateral exercise with Royal New Zealand Navy HMNZS AOTEAROA in the East China Sea.
New Zealand is Japan’s important partner to maintain and strengthen the international order based on the rule of law, and we are working together through various opportunities, such as monitoring and surveillance activities against illicit maritime activities including ship-to-ship transfers with North Korean vessels.
The Commanding officer of JS SENDAI, CDR YODA Masahiko said, “Through the exercise, we improved our tactical capabilities and strengthened cooperation with the Royal New Zealand Navy. We also contributed to maintaining the rules-based international order by demonstrating our opposition to attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the waters surrounding our country in order to realize a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”
The Self Defense Fleet maintains readiness and contributes to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region, not only for the defense of Japan but also for the realization of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” in cooperation with allied and like-minded navies.

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