HMS Montrose first Royal Navy ship to visit Auckland, NZ, in 20 years

Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose arrived at Devonport Naval Base in Auckland, New Zealand, on Tuesday, becoming the first Royal Navy ship to do so in 20 years.

Welcoming the frigate to Auckland was the crew of Royal New Zealand Navy multi-purpose vessel HMNZS Canterbury who performed the traditional haka as Montrose berthed at the naval base.

Montrose is in Auckland after becoming the first Royal Navy ship in 15 years to visit French island chain Tahiti.

Montrose is en route to Japan, where it will contribute to the enforcement of UN sanctions on North Korea. It will be the fourth British warship to visit Japan and operate in the region in the past 12 months.

The frigate is ultimately headed for Bahrain, where she’ll be based for three years, swapping her entire crew with sister ship HMS Monmouth every six or so months to allow Britain to maintain a major warship in the Middle East long term.