The New Zealand Government has announced that Navy frigate Te Mana will extend its current anti-piracy role in the Indian Ocean starting on Thursday.
The ship will join a mission called Operation Ocean Shield which is run by Nato.
Te Mana has been in the area for the past six weeks working for a different anti-piracy mission, a naval partnership of 30 nations led by the United States.
Both missions aim to combat piracy off the Somali coast and in the Gulf of Aden.
Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman says as a trading nation New Zealand is committed to international efforts to fight piracy.
