Babcock, in partnership with the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) and Defence Logistics Command, has delivered its largest maintenance package to date on the Anzac-class frigate HMNZS Te Mana, extending the ships operational lifespan into the future.
Over the past 21 months, Babcock – with vital support from New Zealand small and medium enterprises – has completed significant maintenance on Te Mana, working 330,000 hours over 492 days at the Devonport Naval Base dockyard in Auckland.
Babcock – and its partners – led critical upgrades on the frigate including a refurbished propulsion system, and extensive work on the ship’s hull, ensuring Te Mana is mission-ready for future operations.
It follows Babcock’s successful maintenance work on HMNZS Aotearoa in Singapore late last year, as well as the ongoing reactivation of HMNZS Otago to return that ship to operational service.
This work builds on Babcock’s extensive maintenance capability across Australasia and globally, where it supports ten navies.
As the Strategic Maritime Partner to the NZDF, Babcock operates the country’s largest marine engineering and maintenance support facility in Devonport, Auckland. Babcock has managed the RNZN dockyard and provided fleet material availability and support in New Zealand for decades, delivering maintenance, repair, overhaul and engineering services to the RNZN fleet.
Babcock Australasia Managing Director Simon Spratt said:
“Babcock’s work on HMNZS Te Mana is our largest maintenance package to date, strengthening our long-standing partnership with the New Zealand Defence Force and showcasing the capability we’ve built in country with support from the Navy and our vital supply-chain partners.
“Babcock is supported by 600 local New Zealand suppliers, each one critical to supporting the services we provide the Royal New Zealand Navy, and they are integral in supporting the country’s future Defence agenda.
“More than 91 per cent of Babcock New Zealand’s current expenditure is reinvested back into the New Zealand economy through the provision of services from local businesses. In the last 2 years alone, over $220M of activity has been directed into the local small and medium enterprise network, showcasing Babcock is serious when it comes to supporting uplift sovereign capability.”