Royal New Zealand Navy christens support ship Aotearoa

The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) christened its newest ship, the future fleet tanker and supply vessel HMNZS Aotearoa, in a ceremony at Hyundai Heavy Industries' (HHI) Ulsan shipyard on Friday, October 25.

At 173 metres long, Aotearoa will be the largest ship ever built for the RNZN. It will also be capable of operations in Antarctica and will have onboard facilities that could produce up to 100 tonnes of fresh water each day, which is critical when providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

Following sea trials, Aotearoa will sail to New Zealand in the second quarter of 2020 and will be formally commissioned at the Devonport Naval Base.