The Royal New Zealand Navy’s frigate HMNZS TE MANA returned this morning to Devonport Naval Base after a seven-month deployment.
About 700 family members along with three Seasprite helicopters welcomed TE MANA’s 182 Warriors of the Sea. The ship fired a 17-gun salute as she arrived, replied by a seven-gun salute from the shore battery.
On Friday, 21 February 2014, HMNZS TE MANA completed her support to NATO’s counter-piracy task force as part of Operation OCEAN SHIELD. Task Force 508 (CTF-508) assigned TE MANA to counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa and Indian Ocean since 23 January, maintaining an overt presence off the northern beaches of Somalia and the Internationally Recognised Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden.
TE MANA completed 62 maritime situational awareness visits during the deployment; including visits by her boarding teams onboard fishing and merchant dhows, and interacting with seafarers to reassure them of the NATO presence in the region.
The ship’s Seasprite helicopter has conducted more than 40 flight hours of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance for CTF-508, providing security over-watch of the IRTC and helping to ensure coalition units remain abreast of the vessel movements and potential piracy activity in the area.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, March 12, 2014, Image: Royal New Zealand Navy