A Court of Inquiry has been initiated to investigate how the HMNZS Manawanui, a $100 million New Zealand naval vessel, ran aground and sank off the coast of Samoa.
The ship, which was conducting a reef survey, struck the reef on Saturday evening. Despite efforts to free the vessel, it began listing and was evacuated under Commander Yvonne Gray’s orders.
By Sunday morning, the boat had capsized, sinking near Upolu’s southern coast. No lives were lost, and all 75 onboard, including civilians and foreign personnel, were safely evacuated, though two individuals were hospitalised with injuries.
Former Defence Minister Ron Mark told Newstalk ZB he was deeply disappointed over the loss of the ship, which was considered an “innovative purchase” for the Navy.
Meanwhile Defence Minister Judith Collins praised the swift decision to evacuate, which likely prevented fatalities, and called the rescue efforts “extraordinary”.
While environmental impacts are being assessed, salvaging the vessel is deemed unlikely.
The Court of Inquiry will determine the cause of the incident, with Rear Admiral Garin Golding cautioning against early speculation. The incident marks the first peacetime loss of a New Zealand naval ship.
Just watch the HMNZS Manawanui burn and sink. Sad day for NZ and locals pic.twitter.com/XBMNfC3XJ1
— Dave Poole (@pooliecoast) October 5, 2024
Almost like it was “by design”. Another “to stupid to be stupid” event.
Exactly. Bankrupt us by paying for a replacement ship and leave us defenceless.
Women should be in the kitchen and looking after and nurturing children. God had it right.
I am a woman by the way and I would have loved to have been a stay at home mum instead of slaving myself to pay for an overinflated roof over my head.
This world needs fixing.
D. E. I. ?
All that tax payer money, that could have been used to fund healthcare, sunk to the bottom of the sea……
Why do people insist on voting for this kind of wastefulness…..???
All that tax payer money, that could have been used to fund healthcare, sunk to the bottom of the sea……
Why do people insist on voting for this kind of wastefulness…..???
A Royal New Zealand survey ship that has the equipment to view what’s below the ship such as the sea floor ran aground on a reef that the ship’s equipment did not detect?
Commander Yvonne Gray is an English-born teacher, who moved to New Zealand with her wife in 2012 after falling in love with the country on a campervan tour. She joined the Navy and in ten years made captain and was given command of the Manawanui in December 2022. Meanwhile Judith Collins is doing some proaganda repair work that nobody believes. She would have been better calling for Gray to immediately step down pending an enquiry into her fast track within the navy (and then possibly given a job on the Interisland ferries).
We run around saying how great this country is when it is a world wide laughing stock and a disaster zone in the making
Isn’t the captain supposed to go down with the ship?
Defense Minister Judith Collins?
Some sort of joke?
It will be a good dive one day. Encrusted with colurfull sea anemone amongst the coral.
Consider it a gift to Samoa.
DEI has been suggested.
She will get a promotion now
Maybe a lead ball on the end of a string?
Unfortunately it was captained by a woman. Now the jokes will be even more severe
The only way this could het worse is if our sailors were rescued by guys in dugout canoes. Oops sorry they were
I feel for the crew, you wouldn’t be able to ‘mansplain’ anything to her, like ‘you’re going to get awfully close to the reef if you keep going in this direction’.🙈
Perhaps in all seriousness our Maori people could carve a war canoe to boost our navy fleet as at least we know they sailed from Hawaii to Aotearoa without incident.
Just saying