A preliminary report from New Zealand's military blames mistakes by crew members for the sinking of a navy ship off the coast of Samoa.
The report says the crew of the HMNZS Manawanui did not realize the autopilot was engaged when it crashed into a coral reef. Sailors believed something else had gone wrong with the ship.
All 75 people on board the vessel evacuated safely as the boat sank about a mile off the coast of Upolu, Samoa, in October. The ship was one of only nine in New Zealand's navy.
The New Zealand's Chief of Navy said three crew members who were on the bridge as the disaster occurred are likely to face disciplinary action.
The vessel had been in service for New Zealand since 2019 and was surveying the reef that it ran aground on.
The sinking prompted fears in villages along the Samoan coastline near the wreck that diesel from the ship would spill into the ocean. New Zealand officials said that most of the fuel burned off in the fire, and no environmental damage has been recorded.
Samoa's head of the Marine Pollution Advisory Committee had told the Guardian that destruction in the surrounding area of the shipwreck was “significant.” Investigations are continuing.
