We await the Court of Inquiry into the sinking of the Royal New Zealand naval survey vessel HMNZS Manawanui, which struck a reef and sank near Upolu, Samoa on October 5 whilst conducting a hydrographic survey.
The vessel caught fire, capsized, and was lost in around 30 metres of water in a marine reserve. Thankfully, the 75 crew and passengers on board safely abandoned ship and were rescued by Samoa’s Fire and Emergency Services Authority.
About 200,000 litres of fuel has so far escaped from the vessel, and 950 tonnes of marine gas oil remain in the ship’s tanks on the seabed, according to the New Zealand Herald.
The ship is the former Edda Fonn, built in Norway in 2003. In August 2018, Østensjø Rederi agreed to sell the subsea vessel to the RNZN for NZ$103 million (then US$67.3 million). It was modified with additional dive and hydrographic systems in Frederikshavn, Denmark, before mobilising to New Zealand and being handed over to the Royal New Zealand Navy in May 2019.
What can we learn from this incident even before the Court of Inquiry reports? That New Zealand needs an emergency towing vessel (ETV) with pollution response capability.
Baird Maritime has pressed for New Zealand to invest in an ETV, and the sinking of Manawanui is another reminder of why having a versatile tug with pollution response capabilities would be extremely useful for both New Zealand and the wider South Pacific region.
Whilst most of the oil on the ship will be marine diesel, this is no consolation to the people of Tonga, and the lack of a platform from which to conduct pollution response operations, diving, de-oiling, and ROV work is stark.
About a year before our “Cook Strait checkmate” piece appeared in early May 2024 calling for public funding for an ETV in New Zealand, the Singapore-registered 5,028TEU containership Shiling had broken down as it was heading into the Tasman Sea after departing from Wellington.
Shiling blacked out and issued a Mayday distress call. The boxship was taken under emergency tow by the 201-tonne bollard pull anchor handler Skandi Emerald, which fortuitously happened to be in the vicinity working on an offshore project.
At the end of May, the New Zealand government announced it would commit the paltry sum of NZ$600,000 (US$367,000) “to investigate emergency towing options.”
Really? Since 2006, the Australian government has contracted an ETV in the Torres Strait and Great Barrier Reef to protect the marine environment with an explicit, triple mandate: to respond to stricken ships; to respond to pollution from shipping; and to assist in maritime search and rescue operations.
New Zealand is almost alone amongst rich maritime nations in lacking such a vessel.
Shiling was very lucky that DOF’s powerful tug was on hand in May last year to prevent a grounding and oil spill, just as Manawanui was very unlucky to have struck the reef off Samoa and now to be leaking oil.
Both incidents, and the litany of near-misses surrounding the ferry services across the Cook Strait, show that now is the time for New Zealand to do what every other developed country has done and invest in proper emergency towing and pollution response capabilities.
Luck, hopes, thoughts and prayers do not make a viable crisis response strategy.
Our review of the Spanish rescue vessel Heroinas de Salvora shows how one European country has invested in a powerful and versatile emergency towing vessel, whilst Les Abeilles provides this service in France with 200-tonne bollard pull anchor handlers bought from Siem Offshore (as covered in another vessel review). The UK contracts the 140-tonne AHTS Levoli Grey under a five-year emergency towage charter from Marnavi, and we have highlighted how South Africa recently re-contracted Amsol's 220-tonne bollard pull anchor handler, the 2013-built Umkhuseli, for three more years.
This is not rocket science.
Ironically, Skandi Emerald and two sister vessels are being circulated for sale by their owners, so perhaps New Zealand could just buy one with the proceeds of the insurance from the lost navy vessel.
The country’s Defence Minister, Judith Collins, has rightfully condemned what she described as “armchair admirals” for second-guessing the circumstances of the loss of Manawanui. Therefore, we urge readers to await the report of the Court of Inquiry before rushing to judgment.
Regardless of what happened on that fateful night, however, the fact that 950 tonnes of fuel are now lying in a capsized wreck in a marine reserve in Samoa should focus minds in Wellington on ensuring that the country and the wider South Pacific region has a salvage platform capable of dealing with such a disaster.
Emergency towing and pollution response vessels are the best insurance against oil spills from casualties. Prevention is always better than a cure when it comes to marine disasters.
Background reading
Further details on Edda Fonn’s conversion to Manawanui can be found here.