All RNZN/NZDF News Past and Present

Three Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) officers are among the lucky few honing their trade aboard three Australian Anzac-class warships.

07 MAY, 2024

Sub Lieutenants Taylor Bell-Booth, Ben Sterritt and Aron Mago completed their introductory engineering course in Australia in HMAS Cerberus. Now, posted to frigates HMA Ships Perth, Stuart and Warramunga, they are completing their training as assistant marine engineering officers and have given the experience high praise.

“It is an incredible opportunity to work alongside New Zealand’s closest ally and ‘bigger brother’,” Sub Lieutenant Sterritt said.

“To meet the people and learn from the way that the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) operates is an experience that I will be able to take back to New Zealand and share.”

Sub Lieutenant Bell-Booth echoed Sub Lieutenant Sterritt, sharing the eagerness to pass on their experience to other RNZN officers.

“Being involved with the RAN has given me a diversity of experience and a deeper understanding of how the RAN operates,” Sub Lieutenant Bell-Booth said.

“I can take this back to the RNZN and provide a better perspective when our navies work together.”

Each officer has found it easy to work alongside his Australian shipmates, remarking on the similar cultures, lifestyles and perspectives on service they all share. There was the occasional hiccup, however.

“We share very similar lifestyles, although the only difference has been the Aussies getting used to my Kiwi accent,” Sub Lieutenant Mago said.

SUB LIEUTENANTS BEN STERRITT (LEFT), ARON MAGO (CENTRE) AND TAYLOR BELL-BOOTH (RIGHT)

The importance of the Anzac tradition is not lost on the officers, and neither is the significance of their time aboard an Anzac class frigate.

Each officer has already marked an Anzac Day alongside RAN members, and Sub Lieutenants Mago and Sterritt looked forward to the rare opportunity of marking it at sea.

“I looked forward to marking Anzac Day on board. It has been a very cool experience serving in an Anzac-class frigate with the Australians,” SLT Mago said.

Sub Lieutenant Bell-Booth participated in a dawn service and parade with his shipmates before taking time to share experiences and stories with other members and veterans – something close to his heart.

“My grandfather fought in Italy in the Second World War as a member of the 5th Field Artillery Regiment. He had some incredible stories. He passed away a couple of years before I joined the RNZN. He was a fantastic role model,” Sub Lieutenant Bell-Booth said.

“I am grateful every day that we serve under vastly different circumstances to those that he endured.”

Australia and New Zealand share a deep bond of military cooperation and friendship that is expressed through the exchange program.

While their experiences differ greatly, the Anzac spirit is alive and well with Australians and New Zealanders working together at sea, said Sub Lieutenant Skerritt.

“While not even close to comparable to our ancestors, I too have had a taste of the Anzac relationship in the armed services first-hand and it is something that will always stay with me. It is a privilege to be a part of and one that I will never forget.”

A 10-personnel Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) contingent has completed a six-week deployment supporting the Fiji Ministry of Fisheries to counter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in Fiji’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which covers 1.29m square km.

07 MAY, 2024

An eight-person Deployable Boarding Team (DBT) from HMNZS Matataua – the RNZN’s littoral warfare support unit – along with two Junior Warfare Officers embarked the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN) vessel HMS Tamar in Auckland in March before beginning a sweep of Fiji’s waters for vessels fishing illegally, as well as other illicit activity including poor crew welfare, pollution or involvement in the shark fin trade.

Partnering with Fijian fishery officers, the boarding teams from HMS Tamar intercepted and boarded 23 vessels.

All vessels were complying with the terms of their licences, though several were found to have minor infractions with their long-line fishing practices. Local authorities indicated this could be due to a recent policy transition which is still being communicated to vessels.  

Lieutenant Jack Walters, officer in charge of the DBT, said it was a great opportunity to represent the RNZN and Aotearoa while supporting our international partners.

“There is an estimated loss of FJ$600m (approx. NZ$440m) to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Pacific region each year,” Lieutenant Walters said.  

“This combined effort has strengthened deterrence and enforcement in the region, which has a direct correlation to the prosperity of our Pacific Island neighbours.  It’s heartening to see that there were no concerning reports from any of the vessels we observed or boarded.

“HMS Tamar is a capable platform enabled by a professional and passionate crew, and we’ve appreciated the opportunity to work with our UK counterparts for enhanced relations and counter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.”  

SUB LIEUTENANTS DARREN PACE AND ELLIOT BELL ON THE BRIDGE OF HMS TAMAR1029

PETTY OFFICER PHYSICAL TRAINING INSTRUCTOR MARC THOMAS CLIMBS ABOARD HMS TAMAR

PETTY OFFICER SEAMAN COMBAT SPECIALIST JORDAN MCHUGH AND ABLE HYDROGRAPHIC SYSTEMS OPERATOR MYA-MARIE WELLS ON BOARD A VESSEL OF INTEREST

A BOARDING TEAM PREPARES TO APPROACH A VESSEL OF INTERESTScroll to previous imageScroll to next image

Sub Lieutenant Darren Pace was one of the two Junior Warfare Officers on board, and said the opportunity enabled them to experience life on a foreign warship and gain valuable exposure to boarding operations, including holding watches on the bridge alongside their RN counterparts.

“Being able to work with other nations on operations are the exact experiences I joined the New Zealand Defence Force for,” he said.

“Conducting bridge watches on HMS Tamar was an awesome opportunity to gain and maintain navigation skills that will support our career development.”

The DBT team – which was stood up last year – is a specialist capability providing a ready-to-go resource that can support an RNZN ship or vessels of partner nations on operations. 

HMS Tamar is a Batch 2 River-Class Offshore Patrol Vessel of the RN. Alongside its sister-ship HMS Spey, it is forward-deployed to the Indo-Pacific as part of the UK’s enduring commitment to the region.