HMNZS Aotearoa

HMNZS Aotearoa (Māori: [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]), formerly the Maritime Sustainment Capability project, is an auxiliary ship of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Builder Hyundai Heavy Industries delivered the ship to the Navy in June 2020,[5] and she was commissioned into service on 29 July 2020. Full operational capability is expected to be achieved in 2021.[7] It will serve as a replenishment oiler, and will replace HMNZS Endeavour, the Navy’s last fleet oiler, decommissioned in December 2017.

History
New Zealand
Name: HMNZS Aotearoa
Namesake: Maori for New Zealand
Ordered: 2016
Builder: Hyundai Heavy Industries
Cost: NZ$493 million 2016 [1]
Laid down: 13 August 2018
Launched: 24 April 2019
Sponsored by: Patsy Reddy
Christened: 25 October 2019[2]
Commissioned: 29 July 2020[3]
In service: Expected 2021
Homeport: New Plymouth
Status: Delivered, working up to service entry[4][5]
General characteristics
Type: Auxiliary ship
Displacement: 26,000 t (26,000 long tons)
Length: 173.2 m (568 ft 3 in)
Beam: 24.5 m (80 ft 5 in)
Draft: 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in)
Propulsion: CODLAD; 2 x Bergen main engines and 4 x MTU generators
Speed: 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range: 6,400 nmi (11,900 km; 7,400 mi)
Capacity:
  • 8,000 t diesel
  • 1,500 t aviation fuel
  • Stowage for up to 22 ft × 20 ft (6.7 m × 6.1 m)[6] containers
Complement:
  • 98 total
  • 64 core crew
  • 11 flight
  • 14 trainees
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • Farsounder-1000 sonar
  • Sharpeye S and X band navigation radars
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 1 x helicopter SH-2G, NH90, or A109LUH
Aviation facilities: Hangar
External video
HMNZS Aotearoa Replenishment Trials
Take a Tour: HMNZS Aotearoa

Aotearoa is the largest ship the Royal New Zealand Navy has operated.[8]

Name

HMNZS Aotearoa bears New Zealand's Māori name. Aotearoa is commonly translated "the land of the long white cloud".[9] The ship has been assigned the pennant number A11.[6]

Design and description

Aotearoa is the world's first naval ship to adopt Rolls-Royce's Environship concept design, which includes a new wave-piercing hull for reduced resistance and fuel consumption.[10] The ship is also ice-strengthened and winterised to facilitate operations in Antarctica's extreme weather conditions.[11]

Aotearoa is intended to support other navy warships by enabling re-fueling (diesel) and re-supplying (food and ammunition) during operations. The 26,000-tonne (26,000-long-ton) ship will provide marine diesel oil and aviation fuel along with limited food and ammunition stored in 20-foot (6.1 m) containers.[12]

Aotearoa is equipped with the Farsounder-1000 sonar.[13] Aotearoa is equipped with a Kelvin Hughes Integrated Naval Bridge System, The navigation radar sensors selected are to be SharpEye S and X-Band and one S-Band SharpEye sensor optimised for helicopter approach and control.[14]

Aotearoa is armed with a single Phalanx CIWS and two Mini Typhoon mounts. The ship also has a flight deck and a hangar for helicopter operations.

Construction

The contract was awarded to Hyundai Heavy Industries using a Rolls Royce Environship concept design, which won over competition from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering offering a variant of the BMT designed Royal Fleet Auxiliary Tide-class tanker.[15] The ship was laid down on 13 August 2018.[16] It was launched in April 2019, began builders sea trials in December of that year and was formally delivered in June 2020.[4][5] It was originally intended to be delivered in January 2020, but its departure from the shipyard in South Korea was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.[3]

References
  1. Trevett, Claire (18 July 2016). "New Defence Force Navy tanker to cost $493 million". NZ Herald. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  2. "NZ Navy's Aotearoa is christened in Korea". Radio New Zealand. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  3. Block, George (29 July 2020). "HMNZS Aotearoa: Largest ever Navy ship commissioned in emotional ceremony". Stuff News. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  4. Vavasseur, Xavier (13 December 2019). "HHI Starts Builder Trials Of Royal New Zealand Navy New Auxiliary Ship". navalnews.com. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  5. "HHI delivers RNZN HMNZS Aotearoa logistics support vessel". naval-technology.com. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  6. "HMNZS Aotearoa - A11". Royal New Zealand Navy. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  7. "Feature: Behind the Scenes of Aotearoa". Medium (Blog post). New Zealand Defence Force. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  8. "'Aotearoa' The Name Chosen for Navy's Largest Ship" (Press release). Royal New Zealand Navy. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  9. "Swirling cloud captured above New Zealand - 'The Land of the Long White Cloud'". Telegraph.co.uk. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  10. "First Rolls-Royce Low Emission Environship Delivered". The Maritime Executive. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  11. "HMNZS Aotearoa Logistics Support Vessel". Naval Technology. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  12. "HMNZS Aotearoa - Badge Competition". HMNZS Aotearoa - Badge Competition. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  13. "FarSounder Sonar for Royal New Zealand Navy Future HMNZS Aotearoa Tanker". Navy Recognition. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  14. "New Zealand Navy's largest ship to feature Kelvin Hughes navigation systems". Navy Recognition. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  15. Underhill, Jonathon (18 July 2016). "Hyundai Heavy beats out Daewoo Shipbuilding to win $493m contract for ice-capable NZ tanker". The National Business Review. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  16. "'Birth Day' of New Zealand's Largest-Ever Navy Ship". Scoop Politics. NZDF press release. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
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