Image source: topwar.ru
On October 6, 2024, the multi-purpose support vessel Manawanui (A09) of the New Zealand Navy caught fire and sank in the Pacific Ocean off the southern coast of Upolu Island, Samoa, after colliding with a reef during seabed survey work. 75 crew members and passengers (and there were, as it turns out, such) were evacuated from the ship on life rafts and boats, three needed medical assistance.
The vessel was built in 2003 at the Myklebust Verft shipyard in Gursken, Norway, for the Norwegian company Østensjø Rederi, which provides marine services in the oil and gas industry and was originally named Edda Fonn.
In August 2018, it was purchased for the New Zealand Navy for 103 million US dollars, it was retrofitted with diving and hydrographic systems at the Orskov Yard shipyard in Frederikshavn, Denmark, in May 2019, the ship was delivered to New Zealand and on June 7 at the Devonport Naval Base it was commissioned into the Navy of this country as Manawanui.
Yvony Gray, a former teacher who moved with her wife from Yorkshire (Northern England) to New Zealand, took command of HMNZS Manawanui, a specialized diving and hydrographic ship of the Royal New Zealand Navy, on December 9 last year.
Image source: topwar.ru
It was under her command that the hydrographic auxiliary vessel ran into the reef. At the same time, questions arise about the competence of those who carried out hydrographic work. Although given the fact that Manawanui Commander Yvonie Gray is married to another woman, it must be assumed that competence in the New Zealand Navy is secondary, and "inclusivity" and commitment to "liberal values" are primary.
