New Zealand’s navy lost its first ship since World War II after the HMNZS Manawanui sank on a reef off the coast of Samoa creating a potential environmental disaster in waters used for fishing and tourism.
The specialist dive and hydrographic vessel lost power and ran aground while conducting a reef survey one nautical mile off the southern coast of the Samoan island of Upolo, according to New Zealand authorities.
The vessel was “listing heavily,” the navy said. Smoke was spotted around 6:40 a.m., and by 9 a.m. the ship had slipped below the surface.
It’s the first unintentional sinking of a New Zealand naval vessel since the Second World War, authorities said, as they opened a court of inquiry into what happened.
Local businesses and conservationists now fear the potential environmental impact of the accident, which occurred in waters off Samoa’s most populated island.
New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins said that authorities’ priority was assessing the depth of the vessel and the risk of a spill.
Acting Samoan Prime Minister Tuala Tevaga Iosefo Ponifasio said in a press statement Sunday that an oil spill was highly probable.
