Defence Minister Judith Collins has lashed out at what she calls “deeply misogynist” comments about the sinking of the HMS Manawanui and its captain, Commander Yvonne Gray.
She said that Gray has been attacked online since the sinking of the ship off the coast of Samoa over the weekend.
Collins said a “deeply concerning misogynist narrative reared its head before our people had even made it home to New Zealand”.
A Court of Inquiry has been already planned to examine the cause of the wreck, she said.
“The one thing that we already know did not cause it was the gender of the ship’s captain, a woman with 30 years of naval experience who made the call to get her people to safety.
“I’m appalled to see the comments online from these armchair admirals, people who will never have to make decisions which mean life or death for their subordinates.”
Collins said she had heard female defence force officials were being “abused in the street” over this incident.
Collins has also spoken on the clean-up efforts, saying that much of the work was going well.
“While this remains an incredibly serious incident, and it will be for a long time to come, it is tracking as well as we could hope for at this point.”
The Navy ship is leaking fuel from three separate places after hitting a reef and sinking over the weekend. (Source: 1News)
New Zealand’s deputy chief of navy says there are no oil leaks coming from the sunken Manawanui, but that officials are monitoring the situation closely.
His comments conflict with Samoa’s Marine Pollution Advisory Committee deep sea divers, who have confirmed the sunken vessel is leaking diesel fuel into the ocean, off the south coast of Upolu.
The ship was carrying about 950 tonnes of diesel at the time it hit the reef on Saturday night, caught fire and then sank early on Sunday morning.
The committee is also reporting drone video and stills photography have confirmed the wreck is emitting contaminants into the water.
However, Commodore Andrew Brown told Morning Report his latest update Thursday morning was that the oil was contained.
“The fuel is contained within its fuel tanks and we’ve got no indication of any leaking coming from those tanks,” Brown said.
This is being monitored very closely daily and New Zealand divers will be assessing the fuel status Thursday, he said.
He said he was working very closely on the ground with Samoan government officials.
RNZ reporter Louise Ternouth is on Samoa’s southern coast and went out on the water with the defence force on Wednesday.
“Before we were even told we had reached where the vessel was – which took up to an hour to get out there – you could smell it, you could smell the pungent petrol fumes and we knew we were in the right spot.
“We also saw an oil slick on the water which the New Zealand Defence Force maintains is residual fuel from the initial sinking.”
On Tuesday Chief of Navy rear admiral Garin Golding said at that point no leak was confirmed but “we anticipate if there is oil coming ashore it’s definitely going to be from Manawanui so our efforts are going to be on supporting the Samoan government with environmental impacts”.
Residents in Samoa fear potential oil or chemical spillage from the Manawanui could be disastarous for the local environment and businesses.
Local Manu Percival told Morning Report earlier this week the mess would have a huge effect on tourism, along with on local communities as the area was used for food and surfing, and is a home for marine life.
Manager at Coconuts Beach Club at Maninoa, Brian Rose, said the lagoon has a sizeable turtle population – a major tourist attraction.
Minister of Defence Judith Collins has said the environmental impact was the government’s main focus, alongside a salvage operation.
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