Category Archives: Frigates – Leander Class – HMNZS Wellington (F69)

Twenty years on, an old frigate is now a living reef – HMNZS Wellington

Deborah Morris – November 8, 2025 Below the waters of Houghton Bay is a warship – its forward guns intact, anchors in place, helipad empty. It is the HMNZS Wellington and it’s now a living reef. The day it was scuttled – November 13, 2005 – stopped Wellington in its tracks. In the single biggestContinue reading “Twenty years on, an old frigate is now a living reef – HMNZS Wellington”

HMNZS Wellington (F69)

HMNZS Wellington was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). Originally commissioned in 1969 for the Royal Navy as HMS Bacchante, she joined the RNZN in 1982. She was decommissioned in 1999 and sunk in 2005. Refit On arrival in New Zealand, Wellington was decommissioned and entered an extended refit which ended in 1986. The limited modernization proved difficult and tookContinue reading “HMNZS Wellington (F69)”

HMNZS Canterbury (F421), HMNZS Southland (F104), HMNZS Endeavour (A11), HMNZS Waikato (F55) and HMNZS Wellington (F69).