New Zealand has recently completed a three-month operation aimed at strengthening the enforcement of United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea. The HMNZS Te Mana, which is of the Anzac class, was deployed for this mission for the first time and added to the breadth of New Zealand's air and maritime operations since 2018.
Deployment of the Ship and Support Vessels
New Zealand established a task force consisting of the 3,600-ton vessel and the supply ship HMNZS Aotearoa. The HMNZS Te Mana, commissioned in 1999, is one of two Anzac-class ships operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy. The Royal Australian Navy also has eight ships of the same class.
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Monitoring Sanctions Mission
This task force was deployed for three months in the Indo-Pacific region, conducting various activities including monitoring, exercises, and operations. During the enforcement of the UN Security Council sanctions, the Te Mana covered approximately 180,000 nautical miles, and reports indicate that seven suspicious ships were monitored, with 60 deterrent messages sent via maritime radio.
The maritime monitoring mission was conducted to report ships attempting to evade UN sanctions. This operation followed suspicious ships believed to be smuggling refined oil to North Korea and exporting goods such as coal, iron ore, and sand, which help finance North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
To circumvent UN Security Council sanctions, North Korea uses a concealed fleet. These ships typically engage in deceptive transfers between ship-to-ship and employ tactics such as turning off their automatic identification systems and falsifying signals. They also engage in "ship identity washing," removing flags and painting over ship names.
The task force operated in international waters of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea during the monitoring operation. The Aotearoa also conducted six refueling operations for the Te Mana and allied ships during these patrols, allowing the vessel to remain at sea for longer periods.
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