ROSEMARY ABBOTT | National
AVOIDING REEFS AND BUDGET GRIEF
The Royal New Zealand Navy is reevaluating its priorities after the hydrographic survey ship HMNZS Manawanui went from proudly sailing the Pacific to becoming a new underwater feature off the coast of Samoa.
“We might have saved ourselves a whole lot of trouble if we’d known there was a reef right where we were heading,”
“Imagine a GPS that could say, ‘Caution: Stunning coral reef ahead—turn left immediately!’ Captain Yvonne Gray mused, mainly relieved that all 75 crew were safe after the weekend’s mishap.
Deckhand Kegan Smart chimed in with his opinion.
“Turns out, maybe a basic GPS would have been a good investment. They’re only, what, $200? A lot cheaper than another $100 million boat aye?”
The Navy has now turned its attention to the salvage operation and has even recovered the black box, which, as luck would have it, was not much help.
“The last recorded message was something like, ‘Are we supposed to be this close to land?’” Captain Gray said, shaking her head as she recounted the ship coming to an abrupt grinding halt in the ocean.
More to come.
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