iscover
Babcock completes maintenance and upgrade work on HMNZS Aotearoa in Singapore with the help of Seatrium.
Babcock has completed “critical” maintenance work on HMNZS Aotearoa in Singapore. Aotearoa, the Royal New Zealand Navy’s Polar Class maritime vessel underwent specialised repairs and upgrades with the support of shipbuilding and offshore engineering company Seatrium.
In April, the two companies established a strategic partnership that has a primary focus on providing specialist repairs to a range of RNZN vessels.
Being a strategic maritime partner to the New Zealand Defence Force, Babcock has a strong partnership with the RNZN and often supports operational and manufacturing activity.
Babcock Australasia CEO Andrew Cridland said, “As the strategic maritime partner to the New Zealand Defence Force, Babcock is proud to deliver this critical maintenance work for the Royal New Zealand Navy utilising our team of experts from New Zealand.”
Due to the immense size of the ship, it was unable to fit in the dry dock in New Zealand, thus the work was completed in Singapore. A team of 30 people led and managed the maintenance activity, with approximately 100 New Zealand-based supply chain partners investing in the upgrading work and 20 on-ground partners.
“Small and medium enterprises have once again been vital to support this project from start to finish. Approximately 25 per cent of the value of this project was delivered by our supply chain partners from New Zealand who are key to our capability and delivery for our customers,” Cridland said.
“We look forward to continuing to work in collaboration with Seatrium, ensuring operational readiness for the Royal New Zealand Navy.”
HMNZS Aotearoa, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, is one of the RNZN’s strongest assets, used across combat operations, humanitarian relief and operational training support.
