Sustainment Vessel HMNZS Aotearoa (A11), RNZN

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SUSTAINMENT VESSEL HMNZS AOTEAROA (A11), RNZN

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Origin/meaning

Chief Petty Officer Electronic Technician (CPOET) Steven Knight was one of 10 finalists announced in 2018 among over 250 entries submitted for the Aotearoa Badge competition, offered by the Chief of Navy to all New Zealanders as a chance to see their badge design mounted on the Navy’s replenishment tanker and affixed to the uniforms of her crew.

In CPOET Knight’s competition entry he described how his design, a fishing hook, represented the origin story of Maui fishing up New Zealand. “It reflects both strength and dominance over the ocean as well as replenishment and providing for its people,” he said.

The fishing line, made of flax, was tied with a naval bowline. Dividing the sea and the sky is a white band that represents both a long white cloud and an ice shelf – very appropriate given the importance of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica to New Zealand.