Royal Navy: HMS Tamar finds key evidence for HMNZS Manawanui Inquiry into how New Zealand naval ship sank
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A Portsmouth-based Royal Navy ship has found vital evidence which will be used in an inquiry into how a New Zealand survey vessel ran aground and sank.
As reported in the New Zealand Herald, crew aboard HMS Tamar have discovered key information after sailing near the wreck of the HMNZS Manawanui. HMNZS Manawanui was a hydrographic vessel belonging to the New Zealand Royal Navy which sank off the coast of Samoa.
She ran aground on October 5 after striking a reef roughly one nautical mile from the Samoan island of Upolu, later catching fire and capsizing. All 75 people on board the vessel were evacuated onto lifeboats and rescued the following day. New Zealand's Defence Force (NZDF) launched an investigation to determine what happened. The incident occurred during a bout rough seas and windy weather. Smoke was seen billowing from HMNZS Manawanui before she sank.
NZDF confirmed to the New Zealand Herald that HMS Tamar’s crew recovered the survey ship’s navigation record book. The ledger logs what happens on the ship’s bridge, with the NZDF stating that the information “may fall in the scope of the Court of Inquiry”. The vessel’s black box recorder was salvaged from the wreckage last week.
The New Zealand Herald said HMS Tamar, an offshore-patrol vessel, provided “security and logistical support” in the days after the sinking - potentially monitoring for oil pollution and searching for flotsam from the wreck. The publication added that the navigation record book should list all commands issued by a watch keeper, who is responsible for navigation. Commands from the navigator or senior officers including the commander should also be included. The New Zealand Herald said the logbook is expected to become evidence in the Court of Inquiry into the sinking, alongside the black box and evidence from those on the bridge when the ship ran into problems.
HMNZS Manawanui was carrying 1000 tonnes of diesel when it sank. Defence minister Judith Collins said she did not expect the vessel could be salvaged. She added: “This is a ship that unfortunately is pretty much gone.” New Zealand’s Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding said the ship, which sank during a period of “challenging conditions”, said the ship’s captain - British-born Commander Yvonne Gray, who previously served in the Royal Navy - was an experienced commander who had worked on the vessel for two years.