On 18-20 November 2016, events were held to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) on 1 October 1941. The centrepiece of these events was the International Naval Review held on 19 November. In addition to RNZN ships, vessels from Australia, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore participated, with members of the public invited to visit the ships on Sunday, 20 November. Additional ships from Canada, Australia, and the United States were to have participated in the Review, but were diverted to provide humanitarian assistance when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit near the town of Kaikoura, on New Zealand's South Island, on 14 November. After a busy several days spent helicoptering relief supplies to the town cut off by landslides and sending naval landing parties ashore to check on residents, deliver chemical toilets, and distribute food and water, the ships returned to Auckland on the afternoon of 22 November for some much-deserved shore leave.
Photos taken 20-22 November 2016
 |
| One of the sign boards along Auckland's harbourfront advising visitors of the International Naval Review schedule of events and participating warships. |
 |
| Locals and visitors in Auckland for the International Naval Review stroll past HMNZS Taupo (P3570), a Lake-class inshore patrol boat commissioned into the Royal New Zealand Navy on 29 May 2009. |
 |
| HMNZS Taupo is 180 feet long, with a 30 foot beam, and a displacement of 340 tons. Powered by two MAN diesel engines giving the boat a top speed of 25 knots (64 km/h), the Lake-class inshore patrol boats have a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km), and carry a complement of 36. Armament consists of three 12.7mm machine guns. |
 |
| A starboard quarter view of HMNZS Taupo, moored alongside Queens Wharf. As an inshore patrol boat, the Lake-class vessels were designed for operations within 24 nautical miles (44 km) of the coastline. |
 |
| The Royal New Zealand Navy's offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Otago (P148), alongside Queens Wharf in downtown Auckland. Otago was launched in 2006 but not commissioned until 2010 due to construction-related problems and later engine issues. HMNZS Otago is homeported in Port Chalmers, near Dunedin in the South Island of New Zealand. |
 |
| Visitors board HMNZS Otago in Auckland Harbour during the 'open house' day on Sunday, 20 November 2016. |
 |
| HMNZS Otago, moored at the end of Queens Wharf, as seen from an Auckland Harbour ferry departing from the nearby ferry terminal. Otago carries a crew of 45, with capacity for an additional four persons from other government agencies. The ship is armed with one remote-controlled Rafael Typhoon 25mm stabilised naval gun and two .50 calibre machine guns, and also carries one SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopter. |
 |
| HMNZS Manawanui (A09), the Royal New Zealand Navy's diving support vessel, originally designed as a North Sea oil rig tender but commissioned into the RNZN in 1988. The 911-tonne ship is equipped with a triple lock recompression chamber, a crane with a 13-tonne lifting capacity, a wet diving bell, and a workshop, and is able to maintain station over a fixed point. Royal New Zealand Navy divers aboard Manawanui train in explosive ordnance disposal and underwater demolitions. (Note: Manawanui was decommissioned in February 2018 and was acquired in July 2018 by the Major Projects Group as a research and education vessel; she has been renamed MV Ocean Recovery.) |
 |
| The Chilean Navy's four-masted, steel-hulled sail training barquentine Esmeralda and the Royal New Zealand Navy's Lake-class inshore patrol boat HMNZS Hawea (P3571), moored at the Captain Cook Wharf. Esmeralda, which was launched on 12 May 1953, was used by the Pinochet regime as a floating jail and torture chamber for political opponents between 1973 and 1980 and the ship's international port calls are often met by protests from human rights activists and Chilean expatriates. |
 |
| Moored at Wynyard Wharf are the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 054A multirole frigate Yancheng (546), with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Takanami-class destroyer JS Takanami (DD-110) and the Royal New Zealand Navy's Anzac-class frigate HMNZS Te Mana (F111) in the background. |
 |
| The JS Takanami is the lead ship of a five-strong class of guided missile and anti-submarine warfare destroyers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The 4,650 ton destroyer was commissioned on 12 March 2003 and carries a complement of 175. Her armament consists of a 127mm naval gun, surface-to-surface missiles, two Phalanx close-in weapons systems, torpedo tubes, Evolved Seasparrow Missiles, anti-submarine rockets, and one anti-submarine helicopter. HMNZS Te Mana was commissioned into the Royal New Zealand Navy on 10 December 1999, and carries a complement of 25 officers and 153 other ranks. Her armament comprises one 5-inch naval gun, Evolved Seasparrow Missiles, Phalanx close-in weapon system, torpedo launchers, and one SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopter. |
 |
| The Type 054A multirole frigate Yancheng was constructed by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and commissioned on 5 June 2012. The Yancheng is posted to the PLAN's North Sea Fleet, based in the Yellow Sea and headquartered in Qingdao in Shandong Province. The Type 054A frigates, 46 of which are in service (as of August 2026), displace 4,053 tons, carry a complement of 165, and are armed with vertical launch surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship/land attack cruise missiles, one 76mm dual purpose gun, two close-in weapons systems, torpedo launchers, anti-submarine rocket launchers, and one helicopter. |
 |
| The Indonesian Navy's Makassar-class landing platform dock KRI Banda Aceh (593). Launched in March 2010 and commissioned on 11 November 2013, the 12,400-ton, 122-metre (400-foot) Banda Aceh has a crew of 126, with accommodations for up to 507. Can can carry up to 35 infantry vehicles and 354 troops, and carries two Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP) and up to five helicopters. Banda Aceh's armaments consists of one Bofors 40mm gun, two 20mm Oerlikon guns, and two Mistral Simbad short-range air defence systems. |
 |
| Docked at Princes Wharf in downtown Auckland, the Republic of Singapore Navy's RSS Resolution (208), an Endurance-class landing platform dock ship. At a little over 462 feet long, the five vessels of the Endurance-class are the largest ships operated by the Republic of Singapore Navy, displacing 6,500 tons. The Resolution carries landing craft and can accommodate 300-500 troops, as well as 18 tanks, 20 other vehicles, and bulk cargo. The ship's complement is eight officers and 57 other ranks. |
 |
| Moored aft of RSS Resolution at Princes Wharf is the Saryu-class patrol vessel INS Sumitra (P59) of the Indian Navy. One of six Saryu-class vessels, Sumitra was built by Goa Shipyard Ltd, launched in December 2010 and commissioned on 4 September 2014. The 2,200-ton, 105-metre (344-foot) vessel is armed with a 76mm Super Rapid Gun Mount, close-in weapon system, and chaff launchers and carries one helicopter. Her crew consists of eight officers and 108 other ranks. Sumitra is designed for fleet support operations, coastal and offshore patrolling, ocean surveillance, monitoring of sea lines of communications, and escort duties, while also serving as India's presidential yacht. |
 |
| On display at the entrance to the Devonport Naval Base is a 6-inch gun turret from HMNZS Achilles, the New Zealand-manned light cruiser that, in company with HMS Exeter and Ajax, engaged the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate on 13 December 1939. A plaque notes that the turret was donated to New Zealand by the Indian government, and officially unveiled on 10 May 1980 by the New Zealand Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Sir Robert Muldoon. (HMNZS Achilles had been returned to Britain in September 1946 and was subsequently sold to the Indian Navy in 1948, where it was recommissioned as INS Delhi; the ship continued in Indian Navy service until being decommissioned for scrapping on 30 June 1978.) |
 |
| Two of the Royal New Zealand Navy's Protector-class inshore patrol vessels: HMNZS Rotoiti (P3569) and HMNZS Pukaki (P3568). The vessels, which were commissioned on 17 April and 14 May 2009, respectively, are moored in front of the ship repair facility operated by Babcock on the grounds of Devonport Naval Base. (Note: Rotoiti and Pukaki were decommissioned in October 2019 and sold to Ireland in 2022.) |
 |
| The Anzac-class frigate HMNZS Te Kaha (F77) leads the flotilla into Waitematā Harbour. |
 |
| For the first time in 33 years, a United States Navy vessel enters New Zealand waters: the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Sampson (DDG-102) follows HMNZS Te Kaha. After the New Zealand government of Prime Minister David Lange declared the country a nuclear-free zone in 1984, banning nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered vessels from entering its ports, the United States government suspended its obligations to New Zealand under the Australia-New Zealand-United States (ANZUS) Treaty. Because U.S. government policy was to refuse to confirm or deny the existence of nuclear weapons on its ships, the effect was to deny New Zealand ports to U.S. Navy vessels. The New Zealand government of Prime Minister John Key invited the United States Navy to send a vessel to the RNZN 75th anniversary celebrations in November 2016, and Key personally approved the American vessel's entry into New Zealand waters. |
 |
| Following behind the USS Sampson is the Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH331). The modernised frigate was the second of 12 Halifax-class ships built by Canada, being commissioned on 23 August 1993. With a complement of 225 (including helicopter detachment), a top speed of 30 knots (56 km/h), and a range of 9,500 nautical miles (17,600 km), the 440-foot long HMCS Vancouver sports a 57mm naval gun, Mk 46 torpedoes, Evolved Seasparrow surface-to-air missiles, Harpoon surface-to-surface missiles, a Vulcan Phalanx close-in weapon system, and six .50 calibre machine guns. The ship also carries one CH-124 Sea King maritime helicopter (Note: From 2018, the CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopter has replaced the Sea King on all Royal Canadian Navy frigates). |
 |
| HMNZS Te Kaha secures alongside one of the jetties of Devonport Naval Base. |
 |
| A closer view of HMNZS Te Kaha, secured to the jetty at Devonport Naval Base. The ship's Phalanx close-in weapon system is visible at the top right of the photo, as is one of the distinctive angled exhaust funnels amidships, with the RNZN's kiwi bird logo. |
 |
| HMNZS Te Kaha, docked at Devonport Naval Base, with a line of sailors on the jetty and up the gangway to begin the laborious process of loading fresh supplies by hand. |
 |
| HMCS Vancouver is assisted to the jetty by a tugboat. |
 |
Royal New Zealand Navy dockyard personnel help HMCS Vancouver tie up alongside the jetty at Devonport Naval Base.
|
 |
| HMCS Vancouver firmly tied up. |
 |
| The Canadian flag is raised on HMCS Vancouver's jackstaff. |
 |
| HMCS Vancouver moored at Devonport Naval Base, 22 November 2016, as seen from the ferry crossing Auckland Harbour. |
 |
| Two Pacific Forum-class patrol boats. Twenty-two such boats were constructed by Australia between 1985 and 1997 and donated to 12 South Pacific nations under the capacity-building Pacific Patrol Boat Program. The boat on the right (04) is Nafanua, operated by the police of Samoa, and was provided to the Samoan government in March 1988. (Note: Nafanua was decommissioned in 2019.) |
 |
| The Royal New Zealand Navy Lake-class inshore patrol vessel HMNZS Hawea, now docked at Devonport Naval Base after its participation in the International Naval Review. |
 |
| Docked at the Devonport Naval Base across the harbour from Auckland is the offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington, sistership to HMNZS Otago. |
 |
| The Royal Australian Navy Adelaide-class guided missile frigate HMAS Darwin. Built by Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle, Washington, Darwin is one of six Adelaide-class frigates ordered by Australia, and was commissioned on 21 July 1984; she is the oldest of the three Adelaide-class frigates still in service. Measuring 453 feet long, HMAS Darwin carries a crew of 184, plus aircrew for two helicopters, and sports Harpoon and Standard missiles, Evolved Seasparrow missiles, Mk 32 torpedoes, a 76mm naval gun, a Phalanx close-in weapon system, and .50 calibre machine guns. (Note: Darwin was decommissioned on 9 December 2017 and slated for disposal.) |
 |
A historic sight: a U.S Navy ship docked in New Zealand for the first time in more than three decades. The skyline of Auckland can be seen behind USS Sampson.
|
 |
| Another view of USS Sampson docked at Devonport Naval Base on 22 November 2016. The Royal New Zealand Navy Anzac-class frigate HMNZS Te Mana is moored outboard of the U.S. destroyer to provide added protection against threats, such as small boat attacks. |
 |
| A port side view of HMAS Darwin, docked at Devonport Naval Base, as seen from an Auckland Harbour ferry. |
