New Zealand has paid Samoa NZ$6 million in compensation after a navy ship captained by a “diversity hire” lesbian ran aground on a reef and sank, causing environmental devastation.
An inquiry found the $100 million HMNZS Manawanui, which was commanded by UK-born homosexual Yvonne Gray, crashed on the south side of Upolu on October 5 last year due to human error, including failure to turn off autopilot.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced the payment of 10 million Samoan Tala on the anniversary of the disaster, and said it followed a request from the Government of Samoa.
“We recognise the impact the sinking has had on local communities and acknowledge the disruption it caused,” he said.
“Working with the Government of Samoa, our focus continues to be on minimising any possible environmental impacts and supporting the response. These are our absolute priorities.”
Mr Peters said the New Zealand Defence Force investigation into the crash was reaching its final stages, but any disciplinary proceedings were yet to be determined.
Villagers who live near the reef say the crash destroyed the once-rich fishing grounds nearby, and there reports of sea turtles deaths and oil slicks on beaches due to the vessel leaking fuel as it sank.
After the sinking of the ship, which was one of just nine in the New Zealand Navy and the first lost at sea since World War 2, Captain Gray was given blanket positive corporate media coverage for getting all 75 personnel on board off alive, and Defence Minister Judith Collins called the evacuation a “triumph”.
By the position of Captain Gray, who moved to New Zealand with her “wife” in 2012, as commander then came into question after it was revealed she had been promoted amid a push for diversity and inclusion in the NZDF, and many asked why she was given command of a ship ahead of local candidates.
She was lauded in a June 2023 New Zealand Department of Defence press release celebrating her and three other female commanders, in which one gushed about a culture change in the navy due to a “focus on diversity, equity and respect for personnel”.
Another of the female captains praised alongside Ms Gray, Fiona Jameson, crashed her own ship in May last year.
Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding said while announcing the results of the inquiry in November that Captain Gray as commanding officer was among those likely to face disciplinary action, along with the pilot and the officer overseeing the pilot.
“The direct cause of the grounding has been determined as a series of human errors which meant the ship’s autopilot was not disengaged when it should have been,” Rear Admiral Golding said.
“The crew did not realise Manawanui remained in autopilot and, as a consequence, mistakenly believed its failure to respond to direction changes was the result of a thruster control failure.
“Having mistakenly assessed a thruster control failure, standard procedures should have prompted ship’s crew to check that the ship was under manual control rather than in autopilot. This check did not occur.
“Remaining in autopilot resulted in the ship maintaining a course toward land, until grounding and eventually stranding.”
Ms Collins, who called criticism of Captain Gray after the disaster “misogynistic” and praised her for “saving lives” by ordering an evacuation, said on the day the inquiry’s results were announced: “We were all terribly disappointed in what happened”.
Timeline:
- On Saturday 5 October 2024, HMNZS Manawanui was conducting survey operations on the southern side of Apia, Samoa in a strong breeze of up to 25 knots and moderate swell.
- The survey was conducted in a box-shaped area, running east to west in survey lanes that start on the outside, working inwards.
- At about 6.15pm, the ship’s crew attempted a routine turn to starboard, initially to a course of 340 degrees, within the survey area, as part of a turn. The crew attempted to turn off the 340 degree course to starboard towards an easterly course but the ship did not respond as intended.
- Shortly after, Manawanui left the approved survey area, and in an effort to stop the ship, the crew conducted further actions that they believed should have resulted in the ship essentially braking.
- Manawanui did not slow or stop, and instead the ship started to accelerate towards the reef, grounding for the first time at or about 6.17pm at a speed of more than 10 knots.
- The ship then travelled around 635 metres (400 yards) before becoming stranded, grounding multiple times along the way.
- Full control of Manawanui’s propulsion system was not regained until 10 minutes later, at 6.27pm, when the ship’s autopilot was disengaged. The inability to turn the ship to an easterly direction from the 340 degree course and stop the ship is attributed to the ship being in autopilot mode.
- Unsuccessful attempts were then made to manoeuvre the ship off the reef.
- Manawanui was brought to emergency stations after the grounding, and searches were conducted to check for damage.
- No damage or flooding was detected inside the ship. However, stability assessments made after the grounding indicated Manawanui was no longer stable.
- At approximately 6.46pm, about 30 minutes after the initial grounding, the decision was made to abandon ship.
- The timeliness of the decision to abandon ship and to keep Manawanui’s generators running contributed to the successful abandonment process and likely prevented serious injuries or death.
- The ship suffered a series of catastrophic fires after being abandoned, before capsizing and sinking on the morning of Sunday 6 October.
Header image: Left, Yvonne Gray (New Zealand Defence Force). Right, the HMNZS Manawanui sinking (Profile Boats).
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