Crew of support ship Manawanui flown home to New Zealand as formal inquiry into capsizing begins

A C-130J transport aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air force has arrived in Auckland carrying all 75 crew and passengers of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) hydrographic and dive support ship HMNZS Manawanui, which capsized and sank over the weekend in Samoa.

The survivors arrived on the evening (local time) of Monday, October 7. They then stayed overnight at New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) facilities and will have further de-briefings before being reunited with their families on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 8. Three passengers from another agency will return to New Zealand on Tuesday via a commercial flight.

The C-130J, which flew to Apia to pick up the survivors, was carrying medical and welfare personnel, as well as a dive team and light clean-up equipment.

The NZDF said a court of inquiry into the incident is in the process of being set up.

Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding said the New Zealand response was focused on supporting the Samoan government to understand possible environmental impacts from the incident and reduce those as much as possible, with teams from across multiple agencies involved.

Manawanui ran aground and capsized off the southern coast of Upolu, Samoa, on Saturday, October 5, as it was conducting a hydrographic survey one nautical mile from shore.

The 75 crew and passengers began evacuating into lifeboats at 19:52 on Saturday. They were later rescued by responding vessels despite challenging conditions posed by strong currents and winds in the area at the time.

At 06:40 on Sunday, October 6, the ship was listing heavily and smoke was visible from an onboard area. By 09:00, it had already capsized and was below the surface.

The NZDF earlier said it is working with authorities to understand the implications and minimise the environmental impacts.