The commanding officer whose order to abandon ship is being praised for saving lives
Sunday, 6 October 2024
The commanding officer of HMNZS Manawanui whose order to abandon the stricken ship has been praised by the defence minister and senior navy commanders is Yvonne Gray, a former Royal Navy officer.
The Manawanui grounded while surveying a reef in Samoa late on Saturday. Gray ordered all hands to abandon ship, which Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding said on Sunday was the right call.
It listed heavily and sank on Sunday morning.
All 75 people onboard, including the ship’s company, seven civilians and four military personnel from other forces, were safe after a rescue described as challenging, and during which a life raft overturned.
Up to 15 crew members suffered abrasions, and one had a dislocated shoulder.
The reasons for the sinking are yet to be determined.
Originally from Britain, Gray took command of Manawanui in December 2022 as her first ship command, according to the New Zealand Defence Force. Her naval career began in 1993 with the Royal Navy, and she served as a warfare officer on aircraft carriers, minehunters and frigates.
She joined the Royal New Zealand Navy in 2012, according to an article in the December 2022 edition of the navy’s in-house magazine.
The article said Gray was trained as a teacher and her dream was to open her own restaurant. She decided to move to New Zealand after that holiday with her partner: “How do we get to live here, we asked ourselves. The most obvious thing was to apply to join the Royal New Zealand Navy.”
Commanding a ship was the pinnacle of a warfare officer’s career for many, but Gray said she shied away from it. “I prefer to think of my career as a ridgeline, sometimes the view is good and sometimes it is better,” she said.
She took the helm of Manawanui in 2022 - the name is te reo Māori for ‘steadfast’ or ‘big heart’.
It was an opportunity that made her eyes light up, she told the magazine.
“This is an opportunity to take a ship, still in its infancy, and further the capability of that ship, and influence and help the next Navy,” she said. “The team and I are willing to work hard, to get the mahi done.”
Manawanui was on its third deployment to the Southwest Pacific this year when it sank.
Originally the MV Edda Fonn, a Norwegian civilian survey vessel for the oil and gas industry, the Government purchased Manawanui for $100 million in 2018 as a dive and hydrographic support vessel to replace the decommissioned diving support vessel of its namesake and hydrographic vessel, HMNZS Resolution.
Equipped with state-of-the-air equipment, it was then hailed as a “game changer”.
The ship has been used for surveying harbours before larger support ships could ferry in equipment or personnel for combat or disaster relief, conducting underwater salvage operations or clearing unexploded World War II ordnance that litter the Pacific.
It set sail from Devonport on September 28 on its current deployment and was scheduled to return on November 1, with scheduled activities in the Kermadec Islands, Samoa, Tokelau and Niue.
Manawanui concluded its last deployment in July, disposing five bombs buried in shallow waters at Port Vila in Vanuatu, conducted a hydrographic survey for the Tongan Government in Ha’apai and participated in celebrations of King Tupou VI’s birthday and the 50th anniversary of the Royal Tongan Navy.
It was involved in a joint operation last year with the police and Customs to seize 3.2 tonnes of cocaine floating in the Pacific, making it the largest illegal drugs haul in New Zealand history.
It was also part of the relief effort for Hawke’s Bay residents during Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023, delivering supplies and converting saltwater to drinking water for Gisborne.
Defence Minister Judith Collins has announced a court of inquiry would investigate the cause of the sinking.