New Zealand Navy Survey Vessel Runs Aground and Sinks Off Samoa

A Royal New Zealand Navy research vessel has sunk after running aground off the coast of Samoa, the NZ Defence Force said in a statement Sunday. It was the first vessel that the service has lost at sea since the Second World War. 

On Saturday evening, the research ship HMNZS Manawanui grounded off the southern coast of Upolu, one of the two main islands that make up the nation of Samoa. The ship was carrying out a hydrographic survey on a reef that had not been surveyed since 1987, and was operating about one nautical mile from shore in rough and windy conditions. Under circumstances that are still being investigated, it ran aground. 

The crew's initial efforts to refloat the ship were not successful, according to Radio New Zealand, and it soon began to list. 75 crewmembers and passengers were aboard, and they began evacuating into four rafts lifeboats at about 2000 hours on Saturday evening. Multiple vessels responded to the scene to assist, led by the NZ Rescue Coordination Centre.

According to the defense ministry, "extremely challenging" winds and currents were setting the liferafts and life boats towards the island's reefs, and heavy swells interfered with the evacuation effort. Thanks to the combined contributions of the responders, all personnel were rescued, and most were unharmed. 14 people were injured, including one with a dislocated shoulder and several who had cuts and abrasions from walking across a reef to reach safety. For now, they have all been provided accommodations in Samoa and will soon be repatriated by a military transport.  

The cause of the grounding is not currently known. At about 0640 hours on Sunday, smoke and flame were seen rising from the ship, and it was listing heavily. At 0900 hours it capsized and slipped below. 

New Zealand Defence Force is coordinating with authorities on Samoa to assess any threat of pollution and minimize the risk. On Sunday evening, acting Samoan prime minister Tuala Tevaga Iosefo Ponifasio said that a fuel spill in the vicinity of the wreck is "highly possible," and an assessment is currently under way. 

The sinking is a setback for New Zealand's navy, but there will likely be other billets for her crew. The service has a serious personnel shortage, and has three unused vessels at the pier because it cannot man them. 

HMZNS Manawanui was a 2003-built offshore support, dive and survey vessel, originally built to commercial standards for Østensjø Rederi and named the Edda Fonn. She was sold to the Royal New Zealand Navy for $90 million in 2018, refitted for her new mission, repainted in gray and redelivered in 2019. 

Manawanui was designed to replace the functions of two previous vessels, HMZNS Resolution and the previous HMZNS Manawanui (A09). In four years in service, she performed a variety of tasks, including humanitarian relief and ordnance disposal missions in the Pacific islands.