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Summarised by Centrist
Three senior Royal New Zealand Navy officers, including commanding officer Commander Yvonne Gray, have been charged over the loss of HMNZS Manawanui after it struck a reef off Samoa on October 5, 2024, and will face court martial under the Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971.
The charges allege errors on the bridge led to the ship grounding on a known navigational hazard southwest of Tafitoala village on Upolu Island.
Lieutenant Commander Matthew Gajzago, who was the command supervisor on the bridge, is charged with “negligently permitting a ship to be lost”, with allegations he failed to properly supervise and ensure the ship avoided the reef.
A third officer is charged with “negligently causing a ship to be lost”, allegedly turning the vessel toward a reef half a nautical mile ahead at more than four knots and failing to disengage autopilot or take manual control in time to prevent the grounding.
Gray faces alternate charges of “negligently permitting the ship to be lost” by being absent from the bridge near a known reef, or failing to attend her duty. She also faces a separate charge of failing to ensure “an appropriate plan was in place to manage the risks” of survey work near reefs.
Pleas have not yet been entered. Through her lawyer, Gray has indicated she will defend the charges and has “endured a lot of unjustified criticism”.
A Court of Inquiry found shore-based systems “failed to ensure the ship was properly ready”, with survey work done “without having completed the required seaworthiness review process”, and said planning and training failures “played a significant part” in the loss.
All 75 crew and passengers were evacuated. The vessel later capsized and was lost.
