Court martial for 3 over loss of HMNZS Manawanui

Charges have been laid in the Court Martial of New Zealand in relation to the loss of Royal New Zealand Navy vessel HMNZS Manawanui, off the coast of Samoa in October 2024.

FILE IMAGE: RNZN divers survey the area around HMNZS Manawanui as part of Op Resolution. New Zealand Defence Force drone photo.

Three naval officers have been charged with offences under the Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971.

• An officer faces a charge of negligently causing a ship to be lost. 

• A second officer faces a charge of negligently permitting a ship to be lost.

• A third officer faces a charge of negligently permitting a ship to be lost, or in the alternative, negligently failing to perform a duty. In addition, the third officer faces a charge of negligently failing to perform a duty.  

New Zealand Defence Force said no further information, including names of the accused, would be provided before the commencement of the Court Martial proceedings.

The date and location of a trial in the Court Martial are yet to be set.

HMNZS Manawanui was a $100 million New Zealand Navy vessel commissioned in 2019 for specialised diving, salvage and hydrographic operations.

On 5 October 2024, the ship was surveying a reef off Upolu, Samoa, when it grounded, listed and eventually caught fire before sinking.

A Court of Inquiry found the sinking was due to a series of human errors, most notably that the autopilot was not disengaged and the crew failed to confirm manual control.

The sinking was the first peacetime loss of a New Zealand naval vessel.

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