The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) HMNZS Aotearoa (A 11) conducting Replenishment At Sea (RAS) Station Keeping Trials off the South Korean coast recently. Accompanied by a Philippine Navy BRP José Rizal (150), the trials assessed the ability for a ship to approach and remain alongside Aotearoa as a confirmation of the ship’s pressure and suction zones during refuelling or replenishment. The trials have validated HMNZS Aotearoa ability to undertake replenishment-at-sea operations, ahead of deliveries to the respective operators. Aotearoa and José Rizal were both built by South Korean shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).
HMNZS Aotearoa, formerly the Maritime Sustainment Capability project, is an auxiliary ship under construction for the Royal New Zealand Navy. Builder Hyundai Heavy Industries is scheduled to deliver the ship to the Navy in 2020, and it will enter into service in 2021. It will serve as a replenishment oiler, and will replace HMNZS Endeavour, the Navy’s last fleet oiler, decommissioned in December 2017. Aotearoa will be 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. The ship will also be ice-strengthened and winterised to facilitate operations in Antarctica’s extreme weather conditions. Aotearoa will be the largest ship the RNZN has ever operated.
The Jose Rizal-class frigate is a class of two multi-role frigates built for the Philippine Navy, the ships are the derivatives of HDF-3000 frigate design from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) with design specifically accommodated to fit the requirements of the Philippine Navy. These ships are brand new frigates made by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries, acquired under the Horizon 1 phase of the Revised AFP Modernization Program. The class has numerous “fitted for but not with” (FFBNW) subsystems, including a Close-in Weapon System (CIWS), a Vertical Launching System (VLS), and a Towed Array Sonar System (TASS) as well as several electronic subsystems. The delivery of the BRP Jose Rizal is delayed because of the Covid19 issue.