The HMNZS Manawanui sank this morning after fire took hold of the listing vessel, which ran aground near Upolu, Samoa.
Search for answers after HMNZS Manawanui ran aground and sank near Upolu, Samoa
Seventy-five crew and passengers were rescued by Samoa’s Fire and Emergency Services Authority
Praise for commander after night-time evacuation
Defence Minister Judith Collins wouldn’t be drawn on the details of insurance for the $100 million New Zealand naval ship that ran aground, capsized and sank off the coast of Samoa.
Collins told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking the details of the insurance were “commercially sensitive”.
The HMNZS Manawanui left Auckland’s Devonport just over a week ago and was conducting a reef survey off the coast of Samoa but ran aground at 6.46pm on Saturday.
In a press conference at the Devonport Naval Base yesterday, Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding said attempts to get the vessel off the reef were unsuccessful and when it began to list at 7.52pm, Commander Yvonne Gray decided to evacuate the ship.
About an hour after all personnel on board were rescued at 5.35am, the ship started to lean heavily on one side and smoke started pouring out.
”This one hurt, not just for me but for my entire ministerial staff team.”
He said they thought the ship would provide a “15-year stop gap” and it was an “innovative and smart purchase”.
Mark said he would not be repeating any speculation on the cause of the grounding as it would be “dangerous”.
”The skipper will be feeling it very, very hard.
“At the end of the day, the skipper made a call, a very tough call, which some might say was premature, but everyone got off the vessel, and no one died.”
Defence Minister Judith Collins and Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding front a media conference in Auckland on Sunday on the sinking of HMNZS Manawanui off the coast of southern Samoa. Photo / Alex Burton
Defence Minister Judith Collins said she recognised the sinking was an urgent situation that required rapid response “and we are doing everything possible to provide that”.
Exactly what caused the vessel to become grounded is unknown. It was the first NZ naval ship lost in peacetime.
Collins said a Court of Inquiry would be held into what happened. Golding said it was “too early to speculate” whether mechanical failure or human error were to blame.
“I am very aware that we want answers and I know that in time, following an investigation, we will have a full understanding of what occurred today,” Collins said.
The minister said the recovery effort was an “extraordinary feat” and the fact that no one died was “something of a triumph frankly, given the very, very difficult circumstances”.
The actions of Gray and her “swift” decision to evacuate the 75 crew and passengers were credited by Collins and Golding as likely to have prevented the loss of lives.
When the Navy ship HMNZS Manawanui began to list on Saturday evening, Commander Yvonne Gray decided to evacuate the ship. Photo / NZ Defence Force
Golding said the people onboard included seven citizens on scientific work and four foreign personnel. All were evacuated using four life rafts and two small rigid-hull inflatable boats.
Most were evacuated from the life rafts onto rescuing ships but one small boat capsized on the reef, so the personnel walked to land.
Two people were hospitalised - one with a dislocated shoulder and one had a hurt back. Another 12-15 people suffered minor cuts and abrasions.
Gray is an English-born teacher, who took the helm of the Manawanui in December 2022. She moved to New Zealand in 2012, after 19 years in the Royal Navy.
Collins said it was very dark with rough conditions during the evacuation.
New Zealand Defence Force personnel on shore after being rescued from the sea when the ship Manawanui ran aground in Samoa. Photo / Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority
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.”
There was little chance of salvaging the Manawanui, Collins said.
Golding said the NZ Defence Force was working with authorities on mitigating environmental impacts.
Dave Poole, who was on a seven-day holiday in Samoa with his wife Kara, saw the news about the ship on social media at 3.30am and drove 30 minutes from the capital Apia to the coastline to watch the stricken ship.
”We watched the fire take hold and the whole infrastructure was burning pretty brightly. You could see it was listed, and then it just went down and [was] gone,” he said.
The stricken HMNZS Manawanui with smoke coming from it. Photo / Profile Boats
“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.
“I just think it’s a really sad day, terrible for the locals and very sad for New Zealand.”
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 told NZME they had no equipment to battle the blaze at sea.
Authority members spoke of how they saved distressed Navy personnel after the vessel ran aground.
“Our fire rescue team responded to the Manawanui vessel Navy crew in distress.
“Fortunately, no one was heavily injured and no lives were lost. We’re proud to say we saved them,” 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.
Maritime Component Commander Commodore Shane Arnell said the 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.
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,” Henare said.
“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.”
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.
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