HMNZS Manawanui: What we know about the ship’s sinking

This article was first published by RNZ.

The Navy ship HMNZS Manawanui has sunk off the coast of Samoa after running aground on a reef.

The 75 passengers and crew were evacuated into life rafts after the incident on Saturday night - a move that authorities say likely prevented loss of life.

But what caused the crash, what’s next and how much will the ship cost to replace?

Here’s what we know.

What happened?

The HMNZS Manawanui was on its third deployment to the southwest Pacific this year after leaving Auckland in late September.

The ship is a specialist dive and hydrographic vessel that is used to carry out a range of support, salvage and survey tasks.

Crew on board had been conducting a reef survey before the ship ran aground about 1 nautical mile off the south coast of Upolu, Samoa’s most populated island.

Unsuccessful attempts were made to get the ship off the reef before it began to list (lean to one side).

The passengers and crew were evacuated using four life rafts and two rigid hull inflatable boats, Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding said.

Due to the “extremely challenging” conditions, it took the first survivors five hours to get to shore. An Air Force P-8A Poseidon was deployed to assist.

One of the small boats “flipped on the reef” during the rescue attempt and those who were on board walked to land, Golding said.

Samoa fire commissioner Tanuvasa Petone said three people who were on board needed hospital treatment.

“They ... have some minor injuries, and so we treated them at the site and transferred to them to the hospital.”

Golding said one person had a dislocated shoulder, while another had injured their back.

After all the survivors were ashore, the ship caught fire, capsized and sank. It was underwater by 9am on Sunday.

What’s next?

The Defence Force is sending planes to Samoa to bring the crew home.

The plane tracking website FlightRadar showed a Super Hercules took off from Whenuapai air base on Sunday evening. It would be its first international deployment.

The Hercules left the air base just after 7pm and would arrive in Apia around midnight, a Defence Force spokesperson said.

“It is carrying medical and welfare personnel, as well as light clean-up equipment. Planning is under way for further flights but none are currently confirmed.”

A dive team would be on board to assess salvaging options for the ship, Golding said.

There would also be welfare support on board the plane for the crew.

The Defence Force is also working with local authorities to assess the environmental impacts of the ship hitting the reef.

Golding said that countries including Australia and the United Kingdom had offered aid to the Defence Force to salvage the ship. He referred to those countries as “our partners and friends”.

The Defence Force was now working to prevent any environmental damage from the navy ship.

Defence Minister Judith Collins said the reason for the grounding was unknown and it was too early to speculate.

She said there would be a Court of Inquiry to establish exactly what had happened.

How much will this cost?

The cost of the salvaging operation and the Court of Inquiry is currently unknown.

However, the HMNZS Manawanui itself will likely cost more than $100 million to replace.

In 2018, the government said the ship would cost $103 million to buy and convert. It was completed in 2019.

Adjusting for inflation, that would be about $129 million today, according to the Reserve Bank.

- RNZ