New Zealand navy ship runs aground and sinks off Samoa, all crew onboard rescued
HMNZS Manawanui ran aground off the south coast of Upolu while conducting a reef survey.
In short:
A Royal New Zealand Navy vessel ran aground and sank off Samoa but all 75 crew and passengers on board were safe, the New Zealand Defence Force said.
Several vessels responded and assisted in rescuing the crew and passengers who had left the ship in lifeboats.
What's next?
The New Zealand military said it was working with authorities to understand the implications and minimise the environmental impacts of the incident.
New Zealand says it has rescued all 75 crew and passengers from a wrecked navy vessel that ran aground and sank off Samoa while conducting a reef survey.
HMNZS Manawanui, the navy's specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu on Saturday, Commodore Shane Arndell, the maritime component commander of the New Zealand Defence Force, said in a statement.
Several vessels responded and assisted in rescuing the crew and passengers who had left the ship in lifeboats, Mr Arndell said.
Video and photos published on local media showed the Manawanui, which cost the New Zealand government $NZ103 million ($93 million) in 2018, listing heavily and with plumes of thick grey smoke rising.
The vessel later capsized and was below the surface by 9am local time on Sunday, New Zealand Defence Force said.
The New Zealand military said rescuers had battled currents and winds that pushed life rafts and boats toward the reefs and "swells made the rescue effort particularly challenging".
The military said it was "working with authorities to understand the implications and minimise the environmental impacts".
All 75 crew members of the ship were safely rescued, New Zealand officials said.
Samoan emergency services said a fire rescue team worked "from last night until this morning" to collect and treat the 75 crew members.
"Fortunately, no-one was heavily injured and no lives were lost," Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority said.
Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Garin Golding said two people had been hospitalised, one with a dislocated shoulder, and another who had hurt their back.
A further 12-15 people had minor cuts and abrasions, and sore body parts.
The exact cause of the wreck is not yet known.
The crew and passengers on the vessel left on lifeboats.
Defence Minister Judith Collins described the grounding as a "really challenging for everybody on board".
"I know that what has happened is going to take quite a bit of time to process," Ms Collins told the press conference.
"I look forward to pinpointing the cause so that we can learn from it and avoid a repeat," she said, adding that an immediate focus was to salvage "what is left" of the vessel.
Rescue operations are being coordinated by Samoan emergency services and Australian Defence personnel with the assistance of the New Zealand rescue centre, according to a statement from Samoa Police, Prison and Corrections Service posted on Facebook.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon was also deployed to assist in the rescue.
Manawanui is used to conduct a range of specialist diving, salvage and survey tasks around New Zealand and across the South West Pacific.
New Zealand's Navy is already working at reduced capacity with three of its nine ships idle due to personnel shortages.
Reuters
By：https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-06/new-zealand-navy-ship-runs-aground-off-samoa-/104438052(责任编辑：admin)
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