Navy Ship Grounding Blamed on Human Errors

The Royal New Zealand Navy’s $100 million ship, HMNZS Manawanui, sank after grounding on a coral reef near Upolu on October 5 due to a series of human errors, according to an inquiry report submitted by Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding. The vessel, carrying 950 tonnes of diesel, caught fire and was abandoned. All 75 crew and passengers were safely evacuated.

The report, presented before the Court of Inquiry, highlighted that the autopilot was not disengaged when required, leading the ship to maintain an unintended course toward land. “The crew mistakenly believed a thruster control failure was responsible for the ship's inability to respond to direction changes. Standard procedures to verify manual control over autopilot were not followed,” the report stated.

Defence Minister Judith Collins, while earlier praising Commander Yvonne Gray for safely evacuating the crew, expressed disappointment after the report’s release, stating, “We were all terribly disappointed in what happened.”

Rear Admiral Golding noted that a departmental inquiry will now examine responsibilities for the incident, with disciplinary actions to follow after the Court of Inquiry concludes next year. He emphasised the need to investigate further contributing factors during the second phase of the inquiry.

The Court of Inquiry is expected to finalise its findings by early next year, providing recommendations to prevent similar incidents in the future.