Babcock, Seatrium wrap up critical maintenance work on HMNZS Aotearoa

October 30, 2025, by Fatima Bahtić

Babcock, in partnership with the Royal New Zealand Navy and Seatrium, has supported the completion of critical maintenance work on HMNZS Aotearoa in Singapore.

HMNZS Aotearoa is the RNZN’s polar-class maritime sustainment vessel tasked with fleet replenishment, supporting fuel and equipment resupply operations in Antarctica, humanitarian relief functions and operating and training support. Due to the ship’s size, Aotearoa is too wide and too long to fit into the dry dock in New Zealand and every two to three years, it requires routine out-of-water maintenance.

In April 2025, Babcock and Seatrium, a global marine and offshore engineering company, established a strategic partnership focused on delivering specialised repairs and upgrades for RNZN vessels in Singapore.

“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,” Babcock Australasia CEO Andrew Cridland said.

“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 customer.”

Earlier on, Babcock announced the delivery of a significant package of work to return HMNZS Otago to operational service. Critical reactivation work on HMNZS Otago has officially begun, with the company starting vital maintenance on the ship in recent weeks.

HMNZS Otago is one of the RNZN’s two Offshore Patrol Vessels, designed for maritime surveillance, supply, support and border and fishery patrol missions around New Zealand and the wider South West Pacific region. The ship was placed in a care and custody arrangement for a number of years, and in late 2024, the navy asked Babcock to assess what would be required to reactivate the ship for operational service.

The work includes significant engineering to a wide range of systems and equipment, including replacing obsolete systems, overhauling the engines and generators, replacing navigation systems and upgrading sensors and control systems.