WELCOME TO VIET NAM

Following a departure from Darwin on September 16, HMNZS TE MANA met up with HMNZS AOTEAROA prior to their arrival at Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, on September 24. AOTEAROA had earlier undergone planned rectification work in Singapore.

The two ships, in Viet Nam for a five-day friendship visit, docked at Nha Rong Wharf. Commander Joint Forces Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour, along with the ships’ Commanding Officers Commander JJ McQueen (TE MANA) and Commander Dave Barr (AOTEAROA) were welcomed by members of the Vietnamese military and local government.

In 2020 New Zealand and Viet Nam upgraded their bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership, which included a commitment to closer defence cooperation as a priority.

Members of both ship’s companies performed waiata and haka on the wharf.

Vietnamese media reported members of AOTEAROA and TE MANA visited Maison Chance, a charity which supports disabled persons in Ho Chi Minh City, and ‘Mai Am Ba Chieu’, a charity supporting disadvantaged girls in the city.

On behalf of the New Zealand Ambassador, New Zealand consul-general Scott James and the sailors gifted nine wheelchairs from donors in New Zealand.

At the conclusion of the visit both ships departed for Malaysia, in preparation for Exercise Bersama Lima.