On Wednesday, the Royal New Zealand Navy ship HMNZS Te Kaha (F77), with 27 officers and 150 sailors on board, docked at Da Nang’s Tien Sa Port to begin a 4-day friendly visit to the city.

The welcoming ceremony for the New Zealand naval officers and men

The New Zealand guests were welcomed by representatives from the municipal Department of Foreign Affairs, the Military Zone 5, the Naval High Command, and the New Zealand Embassy in Viet Nam.

During his reception on the same day for the ship’s Commander Steve Lenik, municipal People's Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh highlighted the fruitful results from numerous bilateral cooperative programmes with New Zealand over recent years.

Vice Chairman Minh said that he would like the New Zealand government to continue giving its support to Da Nang in various ways, including investment, healthcare, education, search and rescue activities, and disaster preparedness and mitigation.

Commander Lenik thanked the city leader for his warm welcome.  He said he hoped that the visit would help to further develop the bilateral cooperative ties, especially in defence, with Da Nang and with Viet Nam as a whole.

During their stay in the city, the New Zealanders are scheduled to play a friendly volleyball match against their colleagues from the Zone 3 Naval High Command. 

In addition, they will join cultural and sporting exchange activities with Phan Chau Trinh Senior High School pupils, including treating them to an exciting traditional Maori war dance.

The 118m-long and 14.8m-wide F77 ship has a displacement of 3,600 tonnes and a draught of 6.2m.  Its maximum speed is 27 nautical miles per hour, and it has a range of 11,000km. 

The ship is equipped with a 39,000hp gas turbine engine, a self-defence missile system, and other advanced modern weaponry systems like a 127mm gunboat and a 6-core cannon.  Its stern features a helicopter landing deck and parking area. 

Here are some photos of the ship, taken by our reporter Dac Manh.

Some of the New Zealand sailors performing an exciting dance at the Tien Sa Port