Ex-Royal Navy sailor from Portsmouth reveals pride at becoming commander of navy ship in New Zealand
A man who grew up in Portsmouth has revealed his pride after taking charge of a Royal New Zealand Navy frigate.
Commander Andy Hunt was handed the reigns after a ceremony on board HMNZS Te Kaha at Devonport Naval Base, Auckland, as he took charge of one of the Royal New Zealand Navy’s two Anzac-class frigates.
Having been in both the Royal Navy and now the Royal New Zealand Navy, this is his first command. Born in Nottingham, Commander Hunt grew up in Portsmouth, attending the City of Portsmouth Boys School (now Trafalgar School) in Hilsea, and joined the Royal Navy in 1996, aged 20.
Prior to this he had been working in a sports shop and looking around for something a bit different. The Royal Navy seemed like a “why not” option. “I’d like to be able to say something about having ideals of defending the country, but it was more that I was only really interested in football and following Portsmouth around the country,” said Commander Hunt.
“I thought there could be more to life and I was looking for an outlet. My dad had worked as a civilian in the Royal Navy. My brother was in the Navy but got injured.
“My mum had no idea I had gone to see a careers officer and when I told her she said, ‘you won’t last five minutes in the Navy!’ And here I am, 29 years later.”
Commander Hunt says he loved being in the Navy, starting as a sailor and commissioning from the ranks in 2001. He’s served in Type 42 destroyers, Type 22 and 23 Frigates, Aircraft Carrier HMS Invincible, a minesweeper, and was fortunate enough to serve in HMS Victory, the oldest commissioned warship in the world. “You get a real sense of belonging, a sense of purpose. HMS Invincible was a fantastic opportunity, although I spent six months getting lost on board,” he said.
As a family they moved to New Zealand in 2013, with Commander Hunt transferring to the Royal New Zealand Navy. “I had two children at this point and we had never been to New Zealand – but we had talked about it for a long time,” he said.
“I had been on this course with someone from New Zealand, who was in the United Kingdom on an exchange. He talked about New Zealand and the culture and we kind of took a punt. We thought, why wouldn’t we try this out? It was a challenge for the whole whānau (family), but it’s worked out brilliantly.”
In New Zealand he has served aboard logistics ship HMNZS Canterbury and has been the Executive Officer of the RNZN’s Littoral Warfare Unit HMNZS Matataua. His most recent posting was to Combined Task Group 153 in Bahrain, tasked with international maritime security and capacity building efforts in the Red Sea.
When he got the phone call regarding his new command, he was blown away, saying: “I am absolutely stoked. It’s a challenge I have never experienced before, and there’s the responsibilities and expectations that come with it. When you look at the work Te Kaha has done so far this year, I get to pick it up from there and get the ship ready for the next thing.”
In August, Te Kaha completed a seven-month deployment, which included monitoring of a Chinese Task Group near Australia, undertaking counter-narcotics and maritime security patrols in the Arabian Sea, high-end warfare scenarios and international training during Exercise Talisman Sabre in Australia and integrated operations with the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group in the Indo-Pacific.
CDR Hunt says the support from his family makes this possible. He added: “All these things in my Navy career have been achieved because they have allowed me to do it. I’ve done some really exciting, fun things while my wife has taken command at home. I’m very lucky and very thankful to her.”