The Manawanui was the New Zealand navy’s specialist dive and hydrographic vessel. Picture: NZDF
THE New Zealand Defence Force has set up a court of inquiry into the sinking of one of its vessels off a reef in Samoa.
All of the crew and passengers from the RNZAF hydrological ship HMNZS Manawanui were flown home to Auckland on Monday (October 7) aboard a Royal NZ Air Force C-130J Hercules transport aircraft.
The Hercules flew to Apia on Sunday (October 6) with medical and welfare staff onboard as well as a dive team and light clean-up equipment. A second C-130H Hercules aircraft took freight to Samoa.
A statement from the NZ Defence Force said 75 people were rescued after the 85m-long vessel ran aground on a reef in Samoa on Saturday, October 5, and subsequently sank.
Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Garin Golding, said their response was focused on supporting the Samoan Government to understand and reduce the possible environmental impact.
“There are assessment teams with specialist skills from a range of agencies who are supporting this response,” he says.
The Manawanui was grounded on the reef off the southern coast of Upolu, Samoa, as it carried out a hydrographic survey one nautical mile from shore, the NZDF reported.
The 75 crew and passengers began evacuating into lifeboats at 7.52 pm on Saturday as the NZDF worked with the Rescue Co-ordination Centre NZ (RCCNZ) who led the rescue effort.
A RNZAF P-8A Poseidon was also deployed to assist.
Rescuers battled currents and winds that were pushing the life rafts and sea boats toward the reefs and swells made the rescue effort particularly challenging, the NZDF says.
“We are very grateful for the assistance of everyone involved, from RCCNZ who co-ordinated rescue efforts, to the vessels which responded and took our crew and passengers from Manawanui to safety,” Maritime Component Commander Commodore Shane Arndell says.
Those on board the lifeboats and sea boats from the Manawanui were transferred to vessels that responded to the rescue call and were transported ashore.
At this stage, the cause of the grounding is unknown and this will need further investigation.
The NZDF says this was the Manawanui’s third deployment to the South West Pacific this year and was due to visit the Kermadec Islands, Samoa, Tokelau and Niue.
The shop sailed from Devonport, Auckland, on September 28 and had been due to return home on November 1.
The Manawanui was the New Zealand Navy’s specialist dive and hydrographic vessel.
Its missions included coastal and harbour survey, underwater explosive disposal, underwater search and recovery, and limited mine countermeasures.
The sinking leaves the NZ Navy with eight large vessels in its fleet.
