A New Zealand navy ship sank off the coast of Samoa due to crew mistakes, as revealed by a preliminary report from a military Court of Inquiry. The incident occurred when the ship, HMNZS Manawanui, ran aground on a reef and caught fire, leading to its sinking. Fortunately, all 75 individuals on board were safely evacuated.
The inquiry found that the crew was unaware that the autopilot was engaged, mistakenly believing that another issue was affecting the ship. This led to a failure to switch to manual control, causing the vessel to continue towards land. The Court of Inquiry highlighted human errors as the primary cause of the grounding.
