The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; Māori: Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, lit. 'the Sea War Party of New Zealand') is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser HMS Philomel, which by 1921 had been moored in Auckland as a training ship. A slow buildup occurred during the interwar period, and then in December 1939, HMS Achilles fought alongside two other Royal Navy cruisers at the Battle of the River Plate against the German ship, Graf Spee.
History
Pre–World War I
The first recorded maritime combat activity in New Zealand occurred off the northern tip of the South Island in December 1642. Māori in war canoes attacked and killed four seamen from Abel Tasman's party, who were at the time in low boats between the main ships.
The New Zealand Navy did not exist as a separate military force until 1941. The association of the Royal Navy with New Zealand began with the arrival of James Cook in 1769, who completed two subsequent journeys to New Zealand in 1773 and 1777. Occasional visits by Royal Navy ships were made from the late 18th century. The Royal Navy played a part in the New Zealand Wars: for example, a gunboat shelled fortified Māori pā from the Waikato River in order to defeat the Māori King Movement.
World War I and the inter-war period
In 1909 the New Zealand government decided to fund the purchase of the battlecruiser HMS New Zealand for the Royal Navy, which saw action throughout World War I in Europe. The passing of the Naval Defence Act 1913 created the New Zealand Naval Forces, still a part of the Royal Navy. The first ship given by the British government for the New Zealand Naval Forces was the cruiser HMS Philomel, which escorted New Zealand land forces to occupy the German colony of Samoa in 1914. Philomel saw further action under the command of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf. By 1917 she was worn out and was sent back to New Zealand where she served as a depot ship in Wellington Harbour for minesweepers. In 1921 she was transferred to Auckland for use as a training ship.
The New Zealand Naval Forces passed to the control of Commander-in-Chief, China, after the Royal Navy forces in Australia came under Canberra's control in 1911. From 1921 to 1941 the force was known as the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy. The cruiser Chatham along with the sloop Veronica arrived in 1920, Philomel was transferred to the Division in 1921, as was the sloop Torch, HMS Laburnum arrived in 1922 and then HMS Dunedin in 1924. HMS Diomede and the minesweeper HMNZS Wakakura arrived in 1926. Between World War I and World War II, the New Zealand Division operated a total of 14 ships, including the cruisers HMNZS Achilles (joined 31 March 1937) and HMNZS Leander, which replaced Diomede and Dunedin (replaced by Leander in 1937).
World War II
When Britain went to war against Germany in 1939, New Zealand officially declared war at the same time, backdated to 9.30 pm on 3 September local time. But the gathering in Parliament in Carl Berendsen's room (including Peter Fraser) could not follow Chamberlain's words because of static on the shortwave and waited until the Admiralty notified the fleet that war had broken out before Cabinet approved the declaration of war (the official telegram from Britain was delayed and arrived just before midnight).
HMS Achilles participated in the first major naval battle of World War II, the Battle of the River Plate off the River Plate estuary between Argentina and Uruguay, in December 1939. Achilles and two other cruisers, HMS Ajax and HMS Exeter, severely damaged the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee. The German Captain Hans Langsdorff then scuttled Graf Spee rather than face the loss of many more German seamen's lives.
Achilles moved to the Pacific, and was working with the United States Navy (USN) when damaged by a Japanese bomb off New Georgia. Following repair, she served alongside the British Pacific Fleet until the war's end.
The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy became the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) on 1 October 1941, in recognition of the fact that the naval force was now largely self-sufficient and independent of the Royal Navy. The Prime Minister Peter Fraser reluctantly agreed, though saying "now was not the time to break away from the old country". Ships thereafter were prefixed HMNZS (His/Her Majesty's New Zealand Ship).
HMNZS Leander escorted the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to the Middle East in 1940 and was then deployed in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean. Leander was subjected to air and naval attack from Axis forces, conducted bombardments, and escorted convoys. In February 1941, Leander sank the Italian auxiliary cruiser Ramb I in the Indian Ocean. In 1943, after serving further time in the Mediterranean, Leander returned to the Pacific Ocean. She assisted in the destruction of the Japanese cruiser Jintsu and was seriously damaged by torpedoes during the Battle of Kolombangara. The extent of the damage to Leander saw her docked for repairs until the end of the war.
As the war progressed, the size of the RNZN greatly increased, and by the end of the war, there were over 60 ships in commission. These ships participated as part of the British and Commonwealth effort against the Axis in Europe, and against the Japanese in the Pacific. They also played an important role in the defence of New Zealand, from German raiders, especially when the threat of invasion from Japan appeared imminent in 1942. Many merchant ships were requisitioned and armed for help in defence. One of these was HMNZS Monowai, which saw action against the Japanese submarine I-20 off Fiji in 1942. In 1941–1942, it was decided in an agreement between the New Zealand and United States governments that the best role for the RNZN in the Pacific was as part of the United States Navy, so operational control of the RNZN was transferred to the South West Pacific Area command, and its ships joined United States 7th Fleet taskforces.
In 1943, the light cruiser HMS Gambia was transferred to the RNZN as HMNZS Gambia. In November 1944, the British Pacific Fleet, a joint British Commonwealth military formation, was formed, based in Sydney, Australia. Most RNZN ships, including Gambia and Achilles, were transferred to the BPF. They took part in the Battle of Okinawa and operations in the Sakishima Islands, near Japan. In August 1945, HMNZS Gambia was New Zealand's representative at the surrender of Japan.
Post-World War II
During April 1947 a series of non-violent mutinies occurred amongst the sailors and non-commissioned officers of four RNZN ships and two shore bases. Overall, up to 20% of the sailors in the RNZN were involved in the mutinies. The resulting manpower shortage forced the RNZN to remove the light cruiser Black Prince, one of their most powerful warships, from service and set the navy's development and expansion back by a decade. Despite this impact, the size and scope of the events have been downplayed over time.
RNZN ships participated in the Korean War. On 29 June, just four days after 135,000 North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel in Korea, the New Zealand government ordered two Loch-class frigates – Tutira and Pukaki to prepare to make for Korean waters, and for the whole of the war, at least two NZ vessels would be on station in the theatre.
On 3 July these two first ships left Devonport Naval Base, Auckland and joined other Commonwealth forces at Sasebo, Japan, on 2 August. These vessels served under the command of a British flag officer (seemingly Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet) and formed part of the US Navy screening force during the Battle of Inchon, performing shore raids and inland bombardment. Further RNZN Loch-class frigates joined these later – Rotoiti, Hawea, Taupo and Kaniere, as well as a number of smaller craft. Only one RNZN sailor was killed during the conflict – during the Inchon bombardments.
The Navy later participated in the Malayan Emergency. In 1954 a New Zealand frigate, HMNZS Pukaki, carried out a bombardment of a suspected guerilla camp, while operating with the Royal Navy's Far East Fleet – the first of a number of bombardments by RNZN ships over the next five years. Jack Welch, later to become Chief of Naval Staff decades later, wrote that in 1959, the RNZN "was still very much part of the Royal Navy supported by New Zealand tax-payers. The officer corps and senior specialist ratings were very dependent on loan and exchange RN personnel, while our own [New Zealand] officers and senior ratings were almost exclusively trained in the UK. We simply borrowed the RN's administrative regulations and amended them to local conditions. The Empire was alive and well. Operationally we were still very strongly tied to the UK."
Later the Navy return to Malayan waters during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation. These operations were the RNZN's last large-scale operation with the Royal Navy. In a security crisis and threat to Malaysia and Sarawak and Brunei, two-thirds of the Royal Navy's operational warships were deployed from 1963 to the end of 1966 with Royalist, Taranaki, and Otago, heavily involved in boarding ships, shore patrols, presence, maintaining the use of seaways and support of the RN's amphibious carriers. The commitment, wrote Welch, "involved the whole fleet, as ships rotated though Pearl Harbor for workup with the USN before deploying on to the Far East to relieve ships on station."
Until the 1960s the RNZN had, in common with other Dominion navies, flown the White Ensign as a common ensign. After 1945, the foreign policies of the now-independent states had become more distinctive. There was a growing wish and a need for separate identities, particularly if one Dominion was engaged in hostilities where another was not. Thus, in 1968, the RNZN adopted its own ensign, which retained the Union Flag in a top quarter but replaces the St George's Cross with the Southern Cross constellation that is displayed on the national flag.
Since 1946 the Navy has policed New Zealand's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone for fisheries protection. It also aids New Zealand's scientific activities in Antarctica, at Scott Base.
One of the best-known roles that the RNZN played on the world stage was when the frigates Canterbury and Otago were sent by the Labour Government of Norman Kirk to Moruroa Atoll in 1973 to protest against French nuclear testing there. The frigates were sent into the potential blast zone of the weapons, where both ships witnessed one airburst test each which forced France to then change to underground testing.
In May 1982 Prime Minister Rob Muldoon seconded the frigate Canterbury to the Royal Navy for the duration of the Falklands War. Canterbury was deployed to the Armilla Patrol in the Persian Gulf, to relieve a British frigate for duty in the South Atlantic. Canterbury was herself relieved by Waikato in August.
Post-Cold War
At the close of the Cold War the RNZN had an escort force of four frigates (HMNZS Waikato (F55), HMNZS Wellington (F69), HMNZS Canterbury (F421), and HMNZS Southland (F104)). Due to the cost of replacing four ships, the force was downsized to two. However, there was considerable political debate at times during the mid-1990s about whether a third and fourth Anzac-class frigate should be procured.
Since the 1990s, the RNZN has operated in the Middle East on numerous occasions. RNZN ships played a role in the Iran–Iraq War, aiding the Royal Navy in protecting neutral shipping in the Indian Ocean. Frigates were also sent to participate in the first Gulf War, and Operation Enduring Freedom. The RNZN has also played an important part in conflicts in the Pacific. Naval forces were utilised in the Bougainville, Solomon Islands and East Timor conflicts of the 1990s. The RNZN often participates in United Nations peacekeeping operations.
The hydrographic survey ship of the RNZN until 2012 was HMNZS Resolution, succeeding the long-serving HMNZS Monowai. Resolution was used to survey and chart the sea around New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. A small motor boat, SMB Adventure, was operated from Resolution. Resolution carried some of the most advanced survey technology available. HMNZS Resolution was decommissioned at Devonport Naval Base on 27 April 2012, and was replaced by HMNZS Manawanui (2019), which was commissioned on 7 June 2019.
In October 2021 the Defence Force contributed HMNZS Te Kaha to the UK Carrier Strike Group's transit through the South China Sea. This deployment sought to reiterate New Zealand's support for free international passage through the South China Sea, which has been claimed by China as part of its territorial waters. In June 2023, HMNZS Te Mana was confronted by two People's Liberation Army Navy frigates, helicopters, and four other vessels near the disputed Spratly Islands.
In late September 2024 Defence Minister Judith Collins confirmed that HMNZS Aotearoa had sailed through the disputed Taiwan Strait with HMAS Sydney. In response, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that China "handles foreign warships' transit through the Taiwan Strait in accordance with laws and regulations". On 29 September HMNZS Aotearoa took part in a joint maritime patrol with Australian, Filipino, Japanese and United States warships and aircraft in the disputed South China Sea, which has also been claimed by China.
On 5 October 2024 HMNZS Manawanui ran aground and sank off the coast of Siumu, on the south coast of Upolu island, Samoa, while surveying a nearby reef during a storm. HMNZS Manawanui became the first RNZN vessel to be unintentionally sunk since the Second World War and the first to be lost in peacetime. On 4 April 2025, a naval court of inquiry concluded that the warship sank due to a series of human errors and launched a disciplinary inquiry. On 19 January 2025, Judith Collins confirmed that Manawanui would not be replaced, with HMNZS Otago (P148) taking on the ships role, though lacking the working space and specialised equipment.
On 6 May 2025, Defence Minister Collins confirmed that the Government would allocate NZ$2 billion (US$1.2 billion) from its four-year NZ$12 billion defence funding allocation to purchasing new maritime helicopters for the Navy.
On 21 August, Collins and Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced that the Government would purchase five new MH-60R Seahawks for the Navy.
Ships and aircraft
Current
Naval Combat Force
The Combat Force consists of two Anzac-class frigates: HMNZS Te Kaha and HMNZS Te Mana. Two more frigates were planned, but were cancelled due to political pressure surrounding defence expenditure following the New Zealand breakup of military relations with ANZUS in 1986. HMNZS Te Kaha was commissioned on 26 July 1997 and HMNZS Te Mana on 10 December 1999. Both ships completed the frigate systems upgrade in 2020 and 2022 respectively.
HMNZS Te Kaha
HMNZS Te Mana
Naval Patrol Force
The Patrol Force consists of two offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) and two inshore patrol vessels (IPVs). The Patrol Force is responsible for policing New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone, one of the largest in the world. In addition, the Patrol Force provides assistance to a range of civilian government agencies, including the Department of Conservation, New Zealand Customs and Police, Ministry of Fisheries and others. Originally two OPVs and four IPVs were acquired under Project Protector, but two of the four IPVs were sold to Ireland in 2022. The Patrol Force in 2025 consists of:
2 Protector-class offshore patrol vessels (HMNZS Otago and HMNZS Wellington)
2 Lake-class inshore patrol vessels (HMNZS Taupo and HMNZS Hawea)
Naval Support Force
HMNZS Canterbury, a multi-role vessel that entered service in June 2007.
HMNZS Aotearoa, a replenishment oiler commissioned in 2020.
Littoral Warfare Support Force
The Littoral Warfare Support Force consisted of HMNZS Manawanui, a dive and hydrographic vessel commissioned in 2019, which sank off the coast of Samoa on 6 October 2024, and HMNZS Matataua.
Hydrographic survey and clearance diving
HMNZS Matataua was a land-based unit (a stone frigate) commissioned in 2017 (previously the Littoral Warfare Support Force, the Littoral Warfare Support Group, and most recently the Littoral Warfare Unit) with two operational groups, one for military hydrographic survey and the other clearance diving, and a logistics support group. Detachments from Matataua embarked on Manawanui when the ship was conducting survey and/or diving operations. Matataua was responsible for ensuring access to and the use of harbours, inshore waters and associated littoral zones through shallow water and coastal survey, mine-countermeasures and explosive ordnance disposal, beach survey and reconnaissance in support of amphibious operations, and underwater engineering. Matataua also provided underwater search and recovery support to the NZ Police, and other government and civil agencies as requested and approved through Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand.
Aviation
The Royal New Zealand Air Force operates eight Kaman SH-2G(I) Super Seasprite helicopters. In August 2025 it was announced the Super Seasprites will be replaced by 5 MH-60 Seahawks. These aircraft are part of No. 6 Squadron RNZAF based at RNZAF Base Auckland. The aircraft are operated by RNZN aviators and are assigned to RNZN ships as required. The roles of the helicopters include:
Surveillance
Surface warfare
Underwater warfare
Helicopter delivery services/logistics
Search and rescue
Medical evacuation