HMNZS Manawanui lost

Stuff reports:

New Zealand’s Defence Minister has all but resigned herself to losing a $100m Navy ship, which struck a reef, burned, then sank while the 75 on board made a daring escape in strong currents and waves off Samoa.

“This is a ship that, unfortunately, is pretty much gone,” Defence Minister Judith Collins told a press conference on Sunday, the night after HMNZS Manawanui commander Yvonne Gray issued an abandon ship order after the vessel hit a reef.

“This could have been a truly terrible day,” if there had been loss of life, Collins said. “But actually it is a bad day.”

The cause of the incident will go to a court of inquiry but Gray’s call is being credited by Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Garin Golding, as a life-saving decision.

It is great that there was no loss of life. A ship can be replaced, people can’t. However unless this was a freak accident, the crash and sinking was probably preventable and there will be great interest in the court of inquiry.

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