The Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson is heading to New Zealand's South Island to assist with clean up efforts after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck on Monday, marking the first U.S. warship to visit the nation in over three decades.
The earthquake killed two people and left hundreds more in emergency shelters.
The ship originally intended on participating in a ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Navy, the New Zealand Herald reported.
The historic visit is the first since the Anzus rift in the 1980s sparked by New Zealand's landmark anti-nuclear policy.
However Defense Minister Gerry Brownlee confirmed that New Zealand had accepted offers of help with the quake recovery from five nations attending the International Naval Review–the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, and Singapore.
"The USS Sampson, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, has departed from the Hauraki Gulf and is now on its way to Kaikoura, where it will deploy two MH60 helicopters to help as required. The US has also offered a P-3 Orion for surveillance flights," Brownlee said.
"American presence matters, as shown yet again today: Our prayers go out to our friends in New Zealand as they deal with another devastating earthquake on the South Island," said Navy Adm. Harry Harris, the chief of Pacific Command, in a statement. "But more than that, our help also goes out."
The USS Sampson is equipped with two MH-60R Seahawk helicopters that Harris said would be of assistance to the recovery efforts.
No U.S. warship has docked in New Zealand since 1985, the Washington Free Beacon reported last month.
New Zealand's nuclear-free law, formally passed in 1987, allows the prime minister to grant authorization only if the visiting ship is not nuclear armed or powered. While foreign countries are not required to confirm or deny whether their vessels are nuclear armed, the U.S. has chosen not to send any ship after it effectively suspended New Zealand from the Anzus security alliance in 1985, downgrading their military relationship. The move came after New Zealand refused to allow a U.S. destroyer to visit the country in 1985.
Earthquakes struck the South Island of New Zealand on Monday, leading to a tsunami, landslides, and aftershocks, as well as significant damage throughout the island.