The Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Garin Golding, said the ship ran aground at 6.46pm and tried unsuccessfully to get off the reef.
It then began to list and at 7.52pm Commander Yvonne Gray decided to evacuate the ship.
Golding said the 75 people on board, including seven citizens on scientific work and four foreign personnel, got on liferafts and tried to move away from the reef so they could be rescued.
Defence Minister Judith Collins and Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding fronted a media conference in Auckland on Sunday on the sinking of HMNZS Manawanui off the coast of southern Samoa. Photo / Alex Burton
Most of the personnel were evacuated from the life rafts onto rescuing ships. But one small boat capsized on the reef, so the personnel walked to land.
“Evacuating a ship at night is an incredibly complicated and difficult task,” Golding said.
Two people sought hospital treatment - one with a dislocated shoulder and one had a hurt back. Another 12-15 people suffered minor cuts and abrasions.
Golding praised the leadership of the experienced Gray, saying she made the right call to order the evacuation and would have “saved lives”.
“The commanding officer’s swift decision to evacuate the ship likely prevented the loss of life.”
The sinking was first time the Navy had lost a ship during peacetime, he said.
Gray is an English-born teacher, who moved to New Zealand in 2012 after falling in love with the country on a campervan tour and joined the Navy. She took the helm of the Manawanui in December 2022.
Defence Minister Judith Collins, speaking alongside the Chief of Navy at a media conference at the Devonport Naval Base this afternoon, said it was very dark and an “extraordinary feat” of keeping people together. Everyone stayed calm, which she put down to the professionalism, training and courage of the crew.
Holding back tears, Collins said it was a sad day for the Navy but everyone came through.
“This could have been a truly terrible day,” said Collins, who said there was not much chance of salvaging the Manawanui.
Golding said the NZ Defence Force was working with authorities on mitigating environmental impacts.
The NZDF will work on the next steps over the coming days. An aircraft will go to Samoa to bring the crew and passengers home.
Neither Golding nor Collins would comment on possible causes of the sinking, saying there would be a Court of Inquiry to understand what happened.
The specialist dive and hydrographic vessel grounded about one nautical mile off the shore while doing a reef survey.
Poole, who is on a seven-day holiday in Samoa with his wife Kara, saw the news about the ship on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) at 3.30am and drove 30 minutes from the capital Apia to the coastline to watch the stricken ship.
“When we got there, it wasn’t on fire. We watched the fire take hold and the whole infrastructure was burning pretty brightly. You could see it was listed over the port side, and then it just went down and [was] gone,” he said.
Poole, who took a series of photos showing the last moments of the Manawanui, said the ship sank about 8.45am.
“The villagers around us are visibly upset. They were in church and came out and watched it go down. They told us in their living history they had not seen a shipwreck off their coast,” he said.
“It’s a marine reserve there. I understand it can go down to more than 2km off the coast – it’s very deep water.
“I just think it’s a really sad day, terrible for the locals and very sad for New Zealand.”
The stricken HMNZS Manawanui, emitting smoke. Photo / Profile Boats
Photos showed a fire aboard the 5741-tonne, 84.7m-long ship, which was listing badly in choppy seas.
Plumes of black smoke could be seen coming from the ship.
The Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority confirmed to NZME there was a fire on board and they had no equipment to battle the blaze at sea.
Authority members have spoken of how they saved distressed New Zealand Navy personnel after the vessel ran aground.
New Zealand Defence Force personnel on shore after being rescued when HMNZS Manawanui ran aground in Samoa. Photo / Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority
“Our fire rescue team responded to the Manawanui vessel Navy crew in distress, working from last night until this morning.
“Fortunately, no one was heavily injured and no lives were lost. We’re proud to say we saved them.
“If you’re unsure about our sea areas, please be careful, take caution, and stay safe,” the rescuers posted on social media.
The firefighters posted a series of photos showing Navy personnel being taken ashore on inflatable boats, including one distressed man being stretchered off and placed in an ambulance. In another photo, a female Navy member is being treated inside an ambulance
Other photos show a line-up of about 17 Navy staff on a beach with palm trees blowing in the wind, and Navy crew and firefighters together smiling on the beach this morning. Relief after the late-night ordeal is also clear on the faces of Navy staff in other photos, and there’s a sense of pride among the rescuers.
Maritime Component Commander Commodore Shane Arnell said the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) worked closely with Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCCNZ), which coordinated rescue efforts.
“They are being supported in Samoa or on supporting vessels. Several vessels responded and assisted in rescuing crew and passengers.
“A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon was also deployed,” Arnell said.
It’s understood the cruise ship MS Queen Elizabeth may also have responded to assist.
Labour’s Defence spokesman Peeni Henare called the sinking “a devastating event”.
“My first thoughts are with the safety of the crew onboard the HMNZS Manawanui, and I’m relieved to hear they’re all safe and out of harm’s way. I certainly want to recognise the incredible efforts of those who helped co-ordinate and rescue our New Zealand crew. I’m confident New Zealand and fellow partners will be working around the clock to respond appropriately and support Samoa during this tough time,” Henare said.
The Herald is seeking comment from the Samoan Government.
The Royal New Zealand Navy vessel HMNZS Manawanui ran aground near Samoa on Saturday night. Photo / Profile Boats
HMNZS Manawanui, which sailed out of Devonport Naval Base in Auckland last Saturday, has a core crew of 39 but bunks for 66, according to the NZDF website.
It was built in 2003 and had been in service with the Royal New Zealand Navy since 2019. Its home port is Gisborne.
The ship, which has a beam of 18m and draught of 6.8m, was used by the Navy for specialist diving, salvage and hydrography tasks around New Zealand and across the southwest Pacific, according to the NZDF.
“Missions that the ship enables include coastal and harbour survey, underwater explosive disposal, underwater search and recovery, and limited mine countermeasures,” the NZDF said. The ship supported Navy operations “across the maritime domain”.
“The ship can survey harbours and approaches prior to larger support ships landing support equipment and personnel, whether for combat or disaster relief. It can support the ongoing mission to eradicate explosive remnants of war in the South Pacific.
“And it can undertake salvage operations to find and recover submerged objects.”
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