Offshore Support Vessels and the Loss of HMNZS Manawanui

Author

Editorial Staff

Subjects

Ship histories and stories

Tags

Formation of RNZN, Ship sinking

RAN Ships

None noted.

Publication

December 2024 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)

Over recent times, second-hand general-purpose offshore support vessels emanating from the North Sea oil industry have become workhorses used by the Australian and New Zealand navies and associated services. In Australia, these are principally termed Australian Defence Vessels, although one is quaintly called an Australian Border Force Cutter. In New Zealand, their lone example was commissioned as His Majesty’s New Zealand Ship.

HMNZS Manawanui

Media reports say New Zealand’s Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Garin Golding, advised that HMNZS Manawanui ran aground at 6.46 pm on Saturday 5 October 2024 on a reef near the southern coast of Upolu Island in Western Samoa.

Attempts to get off the reef were unsuccessful and the ship then began to list. At 7.52 pm the commanding officer, Commander Yvonne Gray, decided to evacuate the ship.

Admiral Golding said the 75 people on board, including seven citizens on scientific work and four foreign personnel, boarded life rafts and tried to move away from the reef so they could be rescued. Most of the personnel were evacuated from the life rafts onto rescuing ships, but one small boat capsized on the reef, so the personnel were able to walk to land. ‘Evacuating a ship at night is an incredibly complicated and difficult task,’ Golding said.

Two people sought hospital treatment – one with a dislocated shoulder and one had a back injury. Another 12-15 people had minor cuts and abrasions. Golding praised the leadership of the experienced Gray, saying she made the right call to order the evacuation and would have ‘saved lives’. Gray is an English-born teacher who moved to New Zealand in 2012 after falling in love with the country on a campervan tour, and joined the navy. She took command of Manawanui in December 2022.

Defence Minister Judith Collins, speaking alongside the Chief of Navy at a media conference at the Devonport Naval Base, said it was very dark and required an ‘extraordinary feat’ in keeping people together. Everyone stayed calm, which she put down to the professionalism, training and courage of the crew. Holding back the tears, Collins said ‘…it was a sad day for the Navy but everyone came through’. ‘This could have been a truly terrible day,’ said Collins, who said there is not much chance of salvaging Manawanui.

Other reports say the specialist dive and hydrographic vessel lost power and ran aground on Saturday evening while conducting a reef survey one nautical mile off the southern coast of Upolo Island. By Sunday morning the vessel was listing heavily and smoke was spotted around 6:40 am, and by 9 am the ship had slipped below the surface.

Admiral Golding said the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) was working with authorities on mitigating environmental impacts. The NZDF will continue to work on the next steps. An aircraft was sent to Samoa to bring the crew and passengers home. Neither Golding nor Collins commented on possible causes of the sinking, saying there would be a Court of Inquiry to understand what happened.

Court of Inquiry

On 10 October 2024 the Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garlin Golding RNZN directed the assembly of a Court of Inquiry (COI) into the sinking of HMNZS Manawanui and appointed Commodore Melissa Ross RNZN as the president. The Court assembled on Friday 11 October 2024. The COI comprised:

CDRE Melissa Ross RNZN, an engineering officer and former Deputy Chief of the RNZN;

CAPT Andrew Mahoney RNZN, a Principal Warfare Officer and former CO of Manawanui;

GROUP CAPT John McWilliam AFC RNZAF with extensive experience in defence and civil aviation;

CAPT Dean Battilana RAN, a hydrographic officer and former CO seconded from the RAN.

Counsel assisting the COI is CMDR Jonathan Rowe RNZN, a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.

The COI is expected to release its preliminary findings by mid November 2024.

Guardian class Patrol Boats

Of expected interest to the Manawanui inquiry is a similar disaster which took place in June 2024 when the Fijian Navy patrol boat Puamau ran aground on her maiden voyage, just months after being gifted by Australia. In mid-July, a Board of Inquiry (BOI) concluded their investigation into the cause of the incident, revealing significant breaches: negligence, and non-adherence in the application of professional and accepted navigation practices and mariner skills. The investigation also found problems with the actions of the commanding officer and his command team: ‘non-compliance with accepted best bridge management processes…in the application of safety measures under such environmental conditions when in confined and hazardous waters close to Fulaga Island’ and ‘certain best mariner practices and processes associated with the use of navigation equipment for situational awareness and decision making were neglected by the commanding officer and his bridge team.’

The BOI made several recommendations: holding the commanding officer accountable for the ship’s ground; ensuring comprehensive patrol briefings and navigational planning; providing all seaman officers with navigation books; and reviewing bridge procedures during entry into confined waters.

After being pulled off the reef of Fulaga island and anchored nearby, the now derelict Puamau still awaits a decision on whether the vessel is to be repaired or scrapped.

Summary

The Commonwealth has considerable resources tied to the Pacific Maritime Security Program in providing Guardian-class patrol boats to its Pacific neighbours and is rightly concerned in the loss of Manawanui, with four similar vessels under Commonwealth ownership. There are surely lessons to be learnt from these disasters and subsequent inquiries.

The traditions and lore of the sea have evolved from ancient times, most likely from the French 13th century Rôles of Oléron, and they tell us much. A captain’s responsibility for his vessel is paramount, no matter what its condition, and abandoning a ship has legal consequences, in which the captain may be guilty of negligence. Tradition also says that the captain is the last person to leave a sinking ship. The true dilemma of command when in situations of disaster is whether the safety of the ship or her crew comes first. Whether in peace or at war the answer must be the same – firstly do everything possible to save your ship.