UN New Zealand Navy ship sinks off Samoa, all 75 onboard safe - The vessel ran aground.

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A Royal New Zealand Navy vessel ran aground and sank off Samoa but all 75 crew and passengers on board were safe, the New Zealand Defence Force said in a statement on Sunday.

Manawanui, the navy's specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu on Saturday night as it was conducting a reef survey, Commodore Shane Arndell, the maritime component commander of the New Zealand Defence Force, said in a statement.

Several vessels responded and assisted in rescuing the crew and passengers who had left the ship in lifeboats, Arndell said.

A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon was also deployed to assist in the rescue.

The cause of the grounding was unknown and would need further investigation, New Zealand Defence Force said.

Video and photos published on local media showed the Manawanui, which cost the New Zealand government NZ$103 million in 2018, listing heavily and with plumes of thick grey smoke rising after it ran aground.

The vessel later capsized and was below the surface by 9 a.m. local time, New Zealand Defence Force said.

The agency said it was "working with authorities to understand the implications and minimise the environmental impacts".

Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding told a press conference in Auckland that a plane would leave for Samoa on Sunday to bring the rescued crew and passengers back to New Zealand.

He said some of those rescued had suffered minor injuries, including from walking across a reef.

Defence Minister Judith Collins described the grounding as a "really challenging for everybody on board."

"I know that what has happened is going to take quite a bit of time to process," Collins told the press conference.

"I look forward to pinpointing the cause so that we can learn from it and avoid a repeat," she said, adding that an immediate focus was to salvage "what is left" of the vessel.

Rescue operations were coordinated by Samoan emergency services and Australian Defence personnel with the assistance of the New Zealand rescue centre, according to a statement from Samoa Police, Prison and Corrections Service posted on Facebook.

Manawanui is used to conduct a range of specialist diving, salvage and survey tasks around New Zealand and across the South West Pacific.

New Zealand's Navy is already working at reduced capacity with three of its nine ships idle due to personnel shortages.

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Why would they drive their ship out to those areas then?
Perhaps they should get one of those special ships designed for surveying the topology of the sea floor... Like a hydrographic vessel...
Manawanui, the navy's specialist dive and hydrographic vessel,
Don't read the article. Just proceed to spew ill-informed 'tism at comments.

It is the thunderdome, after all...
 
I was about to play guess the gender of the captain too.
Watch...they'll give her another ship to command, in the name of political correctness.
They're an insignificant island nation. Of course they are putting her in command of a bigger ship
 
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This event is eerily similar to what happened with KNM Helge Ingstad a few years ago.
 
The idiots left the autopilot on.


Crew mistakes caused the sinking of a New Zealand navy ship off Samoan coast, inquiry finds
Associated Press (archive.ph)
By Charlotte Graham-McLay
2024-11-29 02:56:14GMT
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In this photo provided by the New Zealand Defence Force, divers survey the area around HMNZS Manawanui on the southern coast of Upulo, Samoa, after the Manawanui ran aground and sank on Oct. 6. (AC Jese Somerville/New Zealand Defence Force via AP,File)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Mistakes by members of the crew caused a New Zealand navy ship to plow into a reef off the coast of Samoa, where it caught fire and sank, according to the preliminary findings of a military Court of Inquiry released Friday.

The ship’s crew did not realize autopilot was engaged, believed something else had gone wrong with the ship, and did not check the HMNZS Manawanui was under manual control as it maintained course toward land, a summary of the inquiry’s first report said. The full report has not been made public.

All 75 people on board the vessel evacuated safely as the boat foundered about 1.6 kilometers (a mile) off the coast of Upolu, Samoa, in October. The ship was one of only nine in New Zealand’s navy and was the first the country lost at sea since World War II.

Officials did not know the cause of the sinking at the time, and Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding ordered a Court of Inquiry to investigate.

“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,” Golding told reporters in Auckland on Friday. “Muscle memory from the person in control should have leaned over to that panel and checked whether the screen said autopilot or not.”

The crew “mistakenly believed its failure to respond to direction changes was the result of a thruster control failure,” he said. A number of contributing factors were identified, Golding said, including training, planning, supervision, readiness and risk assessment.

The Court of Inquiry is expected to continue until the first quarter of next year. Golding said given human error was identified as the cause, a separate disciplinary process will begin after the inquiry.

Three crew members who were on the bridge as the disaster unfolded are likely to face such a process, Golding added. They were the officer in control of the ship, an officer supervising that person, and the ship’s commanding officer. The navy chief would not name them.

“I want to reassure the public of New Zealand that we will learn from this situation and that it is on me, as the Chief of Navy, to earn back your trust,” Golding said.

In the days after the sinking, New Zealand’s Defense Minister gave stinging rebukes of “misogynistic” online commenters who directed abusive comments at the ship’s captain because she was a woman.

The specialist dive and hydrographic vessel had been in service for New Zealand since 2019 and was surveying the reef that it ran aground on.

The sinking prompted fears in villages along the Samoan coastline near the wreck about damage caused by the ship’s diesel spilling into the ocean. New Zealand officials have said since the sinking that most of the fuel burned off in the fire and that no environmental damage has been recorded.

The current flow of fuel into the sea was a “persistent slow leak” which divers are monitoring, Golding said Friday. Specialist equipment is due to be transported from New Zealand to Samoa by sea, departing this week, to remove fuel and other potential pollutants from the ship.

New Zealand officials have not made public plans to remove the ship from the reef.

“This has had an impact to our reputation,” Golding said. “We will own it, fix it and learn from it.”
 
To be fair there have been a number of dumb errors that caused worse tragedies with males in command. Remember the plane that crashed because the pilot was trying to dive the plane to get out of a stall and the co pilot was pulling back on the stick to try to gain altitude and neither knew what the other was doing? Or the plane that crashed because some tech forgot to switch back the plane to pressurize at altitude so when they took off the whole flight passed out due to hypoxia and ran out of fuel? But obviously if the number of females in command of ships or planes versus the number of accidents were revealed, I’d not be surprised if it showed that in the race to make things equal, certain standards have been abandoned. It’s not even a question it’s just a dirty fact everyone ignores.
 
Will New Zealand's admiralty have a loss of confidence for the female captain?
 
What's with the stupid looking sticks they're all holding? It's going to be some retarded tribal shit, isn't it?
I think it's supposed to be a swagger stick:
A swagger stick is a short stick or riding crop usually carried by a uniformed person as a symbol of authority. A swagger stick is shorter than a staff or cane, and is usually made from rattan. Its use derives from the vine staff carried by Roman centurions as an emblem of office.
swagger-stick-ricardo-victoria.jpg
But because this is New Zealand, they decided to use a tokotoko stick:
The Tokotoko is a ceremonial carved Walking Stick, which are generally carried by those who have authority to speak on the Marae (Meeting House). Those who carry a Tokotoko are usually of importance or high rank within the iwi (tribe).

The carving on a Tokotoko may represent a legend or ancestor and was passed down through the generations, normally given to the next in line.

The Tokotoko Walking Stick represented the genealogy and history of the owner’s ancestry, and is a status symbol and also a treasured family heirloom.
tokotoko2001_AMS_02533_0151_000(035324).jpg
You can even get one with a kiwi on it:
tokotoko_kiwi_982_1024x1024.webp
 
Details from interim court of inquiry report into HMNZS Manawanui incident released
New Zealand Defence Force (archive.ph)
By NZDF Staff
2024-11-29
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The Royal New Zealand Navy ship grounded on a reef on the southern side of Samoa, on Saturday 5 October 2024 while conducting survey operations.

Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding stood up a Court of Inquiry following the incident in order to understand the facts of what occurred.

“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.”

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File image of the Bridge of HMNZS Manawanui showing location of the autopilot button and thruster controls.
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Track of HMNZS Manawanui before grounding and sinking.

Rear Admiral Golding said why it happened and what would come next in terms of lessons learned were still being worked on as part of the wider Court of Inquiry, which was expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.

Rear Admiral Golding said given human error was identified as the cause, a separate disciplinary process would need to be commenced once the Court of Inquiry had concluded.

As well as the primary cause, there were also a number of identified contributing factors leading to the ship’s grounding, which will be considered in more detail during phase two of the Court of Inquiry.

“To provide some immediate assurance, we have conducted a series of audits in the Fleet and looked to implement initial lessons identified from the interim report around training, risk management, and improving relevant orders, instructions and procedures” he said.

Rear Admiral Golding said he was grateful for the support from the Transport Accident Investigation Committee, the Royal Australian Navy, and Royal New Zealand Air Force for their support to the Court of Inquiry investigation, which used evidence collected through interviews with the crew, expert witnesses and data from the ship’s recordings to find the primary cause.

The New Zealand Defence Force remains thankful for Samoa’s ongoing support regarding the situation, and is committed to working alongside Samoan authorities on the response, he said.

“I want to reassure the public of New Zealand that we will learn from this situation and that it is on me, as the Chief of Navy, to earn back your trust.

“We have incredible people within our Defence Force who answer the call to serve every day. Much of their work is risky and involves decisions that can mean life or death. No one turns up to work to have a bad day.

“In this situation, we thankfully did not lose any lives but lives have been affected nonetheless, and we continue to support and work closely with those who were onboard Manawanui on that day.”

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.

Latest updates​

To read our latest updates click here.

Press conference:

Sal's analysis:
 
Bringing this from the USPG2 thread:
The scuzzy fake Kiwi's finally released the report on the sinking HMNZS Manawanui. That survey ship that ran aground and sank. It's massively redacted but it's easy enough to put the events together if your familiar with navy ships.

TLDR: Female drivers...seriously. The captain was under trained and unprepared, the female navigator was under trained and unprepared for the emergency and the bridge crew, which was 50% female by commandant, was confused and hesitant to act until it was too late.

The Nav crew literally left the ship on auto-pilot while they tried to make course corrections then were confused and unsure what to do when the ship kept correcting the heading which was straight toward the reef.

After the impact the fires that were started by the crash were allowed to grow out of control as the captain prioritized getting the crew off the ship rather then try to fight the causality. IE: the second the ship hit the reef the captain panicked and started to abandon ship without even trying to see if the ship could be saved.

Best bit:

"18:15 the ECDV (electronic charting device) starts to sound an alarm, no verbal confirmation of this alarm was was recorded by the bridge data devices"

LOL, the ship itself was telling these morons it was in danger and either no one noticed or no one cared.

God damn....DIE all the way down. They are so lucky no one died and all it cost them was $150 million.

Here's a good guy to walk you through it if you really care. It's a pretty detailed breakdown so it's not for everyone.

 
After reading the official report the only conclusion I can come to is that everyone on the bridge that day was a complete and utter moron who shouldn't be allow to use a rowboat let alone a warship.

The captain asking the bridge crew for assistance because she was unfamiliar with the thruster systems.

The Nav officer not seeing the impact alarm or not telling anyone about it even though it clearly showed the ship was on a collision coarse and was beeping away.

And of course the creme ala creme: repeatedly increasing speed even though the helm is not responding to commands for...reasons.

The best part"

18:58 (8 min after impact) - "oh the helm is still on auto should I turn that off?"

fucking KeK
 
It's actually impressive that a country founded by Polynesians in canoes, then British in sailing ships, managed to find an entire command crew of people who should not, under any circumstances, be anywhere near a fucking boat.
Being that retarded takes commitment and hard work.
 
After reading the official report the only conclusion I can come to is that everyone on the bridge that day was a complete and utter moron who shouldn't be allow to use a rowboat let alone a warship.

The captain asking the bridge crew for assistance because she was unfamiliar with the thruster systems.

The Nav officer not seeing the impact alarm or not telling anyone about it even though it clearly showed the ship was on a collision coarse and was beeping away.

And of course the creme ala creme: repeatedly increasing speed even though the helm is not responding to commands for...reasons.

The best part"

18:58 (8 min after impact) - "oh the helm is still on auto should I turn that off?"

fucking KeK
Interesting, and how much compensation and relief will these heroes be receiving for bravely surviving this unavo tragedy? Maybe a few medals?
 
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It's actually impressive that a country founded by Polynesians in canoes, then British in sailing ships, managed to find an entire command crew of people who should not, under any circumstances, be anywhere near a fucking boat.
Being that retarded takes commitment and hard work.

each of these people were deliberately selected, not for skill mind you but for intrinsic traits. Ability wasn't really a core focus here, they want X% of Y people and cared more about hitting that goal so they could be "progressive" then the danger they were placing the ship and it's crew in. It was only blind luck crewmembers were not killed in either the crash or the ensuing fires that broke out onboard.

The Navy ordered 50% female bridge crews by a set date so the commanders had no choice but to shove each and every female navy officer into command roles whether they were qualified or not.

This is exactly the crew the Kiwi government wanted, literately choose and endorsed. This is summation of the policy they deliberately choose to pursue.

Also it's not like this is only a Kiwi thing. Most here are too young to remember but the US Navy did shit like this too but were less lucky.

The first female carrier pilot was given 5 tries to qualify (for details any pilot is normally down checked after 2 fails) and the final results were tweaked to allow her to graduate because the Navy Sectary wanted to brag about having the first female carrier qualified pilot when he visited the Whitehouse.

Ok..so?

Well 2 weeks into her first carrier assignment she slammed her F14 directly into the side of the ship on a attempted landing and died. Her RICO ejected a few seconds before but for whatever reason the woman stayed in the plane and died. The ensuing investigation was quickly swept under the rug and seldom mentioned but everyone was aware this woman was dead because some brass-head wanted a trophy on his resume and bent the rules so she qualified for something she could not do.

She should never have been allowed anywhere near a carrier after so many down checks and died because she was unable to deal with the high stress environment of carrier operations. She was pushed past her skill just because she was a woman and diead for it. Really if you don't think landing on a carrier at sea is fucking tuff watch this

 
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