The United States has lifted a ban that prevented New Zealand naval ships from visiting US ports or bases since the 1980s, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Friday, hailing a "new era" in relations between the two nations.

The policy change, part of efforts to bolster security ties, will "allow the US secretary of defense to authorize individual visits to Department of Defense or Coast Guard facilities in the United States and around the world", he said.

"I suspect that soon we'll be able to see one of those ships in our ports," he added, when asked when New Zealand vessels would stop in the US.