HMNZS Manawanui, formally a chirpy red and yellow MV Edda Fonn, sank on October 6 much to the shock of New Zealand and its allies.

It is the first and only ship to be lost by the New Zealand Navy during peacetime and remains a major embarrassment.

The three crew members who were reported as being on the bridge during the apparent failure of procedure may face a disciplinary process following the inquiry.

‘I want to reassure the public of New Zealand that we will learn from this situation and that it is on me, as the Chief of Navy, to earn back your trust,’ said Rear Admiral Golding.

What cannot be earned back is the cost to New Zealanders. Not only is there the value of the ship, its replacement, and the cleanup to consider, but Samoan villagers are also seeking compensation for environmental damage, tourism, and fishing. This seems reasonable, considering they were sitting there, minding their own business, when the ship ran aground on their reef.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has made a formal apology to the Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa.

At the end of November, the preliminary report into the sinking laid the blame on human error. While under the command of Commander Yvonne Gray, it was reported that the crew had ‘failed to disengage the autopilot’ and then mistakenly thought the ship’s unresponsiveness was due to a problem with its thruster control.

The revelation has left many scratching their heads in disbelief.

Autopilot, really?

Having eventually caught fire and sunk, the poor ship began leaking fuel. By October 11, fishermen near the reef reported oil-drenched catches and it was later confirmed that around 200,000 litres of diesel had made its way into the water from the engine room. Needless to say, the local Samoan community were not happy about the fuel slick snaking out across the water.

On October 14, it was reported that the main fuel tanks had remained intact while daily beach checks continued on the nearby shoreline to ensure nothing washed ashore. Smaller debris was fished out of the sea and the public were encouraged to assist authorities with the cleanup.

Instead of leaving the ship as a shallow water wreck, talk turned to its salvage.

This plan was named Operation Resolution.

There are many parts to this operation, all of them dependent on the weather which has a tendency to produce rough seas at this time of year. One task included the removal of three 10-foot shipping containers lodged on the reef. This was completed by October 23. After this, many dives were conducted by the Navy to assess the damage of the main vessel. Drone flights continued and eventually, in early November, the salvors began arriving to make their assessments.

One month after the sinking, a painfully apologetic New Zealand set about finding a way to remove the remaining fuel.

The ship remains as a ghostly and easily visible spectre. The longer it sits there, the harder a salvage operation becomes. In response, this may be one of the fastest government projects we witness in our lifetime.

As of late last week, the first of the vessels involved in the removal of fuel have arrived.

‘Today [December 13] is a key milestone in Operation Resolution with the arrival into Apia, Samoa, of the salvors’ tug and barge contracted by NZDF to remove the fuel and other pollutants from HMNZS Manawanui,’ said Commodore Andrew Brown, NZDF Senior National Representative for Operation Resolution.

Commodore Brown added, ‘The underwater anchoring installations are critical to this phase of the operation. They must be able to secure the barge in place over Manawanui in a range of sea states during the fuel removal process while at the same time ensuring the reef and seabed are protected. This response is complex and technical and it is extremely important that we do a careful and thorough job. How long things take will be very dependent on factors such as weather and sea conditions.’

Updates are posted every few days to the official site.

Removing the ship will be more difficult. The recent salvage of the Costa Concordia is an extraordinary story (at a terrifying $1.2 billion cost). There is a great video detailing this extremely dangerous and technical process here (and keep in mind, this ship was still sitting partly above the water).

When and if the Manawanui can be recovered remains an open question.