Hyundai Heavy Industries delivers a large military support ship to New Zealand's Navy
New Zealand's largest military support ship, which was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, departed to New Zealand on June 10, a company spokesman said on June 10.
Hyundai Heavy Industries held a ceremony at its headquarters in Ulsan on June 10 for the AOTEAROA, the latest 26,000-ton military support ship of the New Zealand Navy, to set sail for India.
The departure ceremony was attended by Nam Sang-hoon, vice president of Hyundai Heavy Industries, New Zealand Ambassador to Korea Philip Turner, and Sung Il, Director of International Cooperation at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, while the South Korean Navy deployed a military support ship called Daecheong to send back the AOTEAROA and pray for a safe voyage.
Hyundai Heavy Industries received the order for AOTEAROA from the New Zealand Navy in July 2016, the largest in the history of New Zealand Navy with the 173-meter in length and 24-meter in width. It will be used to distribute fuel, food, drinking water and ammunition to New Zealand naval vessels.
The departure is meaningful in that it successfully exported a military support vessel based on advanced technology to the country that sent warships to Korea during the Korean War.
In addition, Korea and New Zealand have been building trust relations, with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the New Zealand Ministry of National Defense signing a "military goods cooperation agreement" last year to expand cooperation in the defense sector between the two countries.
(KoreaITTimes)