HMNZS Aotearoa (Māori: [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]),[a] formerly the Maritime Sustainment Capability project, is an auxiliary ship of the Royal New Zealand Navy.

[5] The ship is ice-strengthened[10] and winterised to facilitate operations in Antarctica's weather conditions where Scott Base is located.

[12][13] Aotearoa is a Polar Class (PC) 6, Logistics Support ship designed and built with specialised winterisation capabilities for her operations in Antarctica.

[14][13] Aotearoa is intended to support other navy warships by enabling re-fueling (diesel) and re-supplying (food and ammunition) during operations.

[18] It is armed with a Phalanx CIWS (Fitted for, but not with) and two Mini Typhoon mounts and has a flight deck and hangar for helicopter operations.

[24] Aotearoa and HMNZS Te Kaha participated in an international defence exercise in South East Asia in 2021 and also interacted with the United Kingdom’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) as it conducted engagement activities in the Indo-Pacific region.

[25] In response to the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami, Aotearoa and HMNZS Wellington were deployed to provide water supplies, survey teams, and helicopter support.