It will be a very different RIMPAC for the Kiwis this year, with no on-shore exercises or contact with foreign troops. The crew of the HMZNS Manawanui were not going to let a global pandemic stop them participating in the world's largest maritime war games.

The Royal New Zealand Navy ship and her 66 crew this week set sail on a two-week voyage to the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in August.

It represents a scaled-back participation in RIMPAC compared with previous years, when Kiwi soldiers practised live firing and amphibious operations in Hawaii.

In 2020, by contrast the sailors will remain on their ship during the exercise and will not be given shore leave.

New Zealand’s continued participation in the exercise has provoked controversy in some quarters amid opposition from academics and peace groups.

The diving and hydrographic support vessel will make brief stops at the beginning and end of the exercise for fuel and food, but those on board will have no contact with port staff due to coronavirus concerns.

The pandemic forced a host of modifications to the exercise, the first of which was held in 1971.

RIMPAC 2020 was cut from five weeks to two, while social events on shore were canned.

The exercise, hosted by the US Navy's Indo-Pacific command, will involve 23 vessels, including a submarine, and various aircraft.

In the mix for the war games are Australia, Brunei, Canada, France, India, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Singapore, the US and New Zealand.

Speaking to Stuff on the bridge of his ship hours before setting sail from Devonport Naval Base on Wednesday, commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Andy Mahoney said they would be operating as part of a Singaporean-led task group.

“This is an opportunity for Manawanui to represent New Zealand on the world stage and demonstrate and practice our interoperability with our regional partners from the southwest Pacific.”

The voyage to Hawaiian waters will take two weeks and the ship will be at sea for a total of 53 days, Mahoney said.

There will be no face-to-face contact between Kiwi sailors and military personnel of other nations.

Manawanui is a dive, hydrographic support and offshore salvage vessel, commissioned in June 2019.

Unlike the brand new HMNZS Aotearoa, comissioned on the same day as Manawanui’s departure, the 85m ship came second hand.

It was formerly the MV Edda Fonn Norwegian offshore support vessel, launched in 2003, and its conversion cost about $100 million.

Manawanui is designed for disaster relief, search and recovery and explosives disposal in the Pacific.

Mahoney said the year following its commissioning in 2019 was spent preparing the ship to be able to deploy offshore on an exercise in foreign seas for the first time.

“It’s an exciting day for the men and women of the Manawanui.”

In April, a group of academics, peace activists and others sent an open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urging New Zealand to withdraw from RIMPAC.

The letter said the exercise was “primarily intended to cement US military domination of the Pacific”.

“As a participant, New Zealand is contributing to this military showcase of imperial violence and ecological destruction in places such as Hawaii and Guam.”

Victoria University of Wellington Pacific Studies lecturer Emalani Case, from Waimea on the Big Island of Hawaii, wrote a piece for the Spinoff urging New Zealand not to participate.

The exercise polluted the environment, threatened wildlife and disregarded the rights of the indigenous population, Case wrote.

A petition calling for New Zealand to withdraw has so far garnered just under 1000 signatures.

Defence Minister Ron Mark told RNZ at the time New Zealand needed to participate in the exercise so it could effectively help to maintain collective security in the Pacific.

Asked about the opposition to New Zealand’s participation in the exercise, Mahoney cited the need for “capable and adaptive partners” in the region.

“And I think this year, particularly with the Covid pandemic that’s affecting the world, this is a great opportunity to demonstrate the resolve of New Zealand and continue to demonstrate our interoperability and commitment to the partners in the Pacific.”