The Navy ship HMNZS Manawanui has sunk

Photo: Royal New Zealand Navy vessel HMNZS Manawanui ran aground near Samoa on Saturday night. Photo / Profile Boats

The Straits Times

The Navy ship HMNZS Manawanui has sunk off the coast of Samoa after running aground on a reef.

The passengers and crew were evacuated into life rafts after the incident on Saturday night – a move that authorities say likely prevented loss of life.

But what caused the crash, what’s next and how much will the ship cost to replace?

Here’s what we know.

The sinking

The nearly 85-metre HMNZS Manawanui was on its third deployment to the southwest Pacific this year after leaving Auckland in late September. The ship is a specialist dive and hydrographic vessel that is used to carry out a range of support, salvage and survey tasks.

Crew on board had been conducting a reef survey before the ship ran aground about 1 nautical mile off the south coast of Upolu, Samoa’s second largest but most populated island, which includes the capital Apia.

Unsuccessful attempts were made to get the ship off the reef before it began to list (lean to one side).

The passengers and crew were evacuated using four life rafts and two rigid hull inflatable boats, Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding said.

ED: Below is a video passed to me by a good mate his comment to me was … “Get a load of this!”