New Zealand official: No, ship didn't sink because its captain was a woman

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — 

New Zealand's defence curate issued stinging rebukes of what she said were "vile" and "misogynistic" online remarks by "armchair admirals" astir the pistillate skipper of a navy vessel that ran aground, caught occurrence and sank disconnected the seashore of Samoa.

"Seriously, it's 2024," Judith Collins told reporters Thursday. "What the hell's going connected here?"

After days of comments connected societal media directed astatine the sex of Commander Yvonne Gray, Collins urged the nationalist to "be better." Women members of the subject had besides faced verbal maltreatment successful the thoroughfare successful New Zealand since the vessel — 1 of 9 successful the country's navy — was mislaid connected Sunday, Collins said.

All 75 radical connected committee evacuated to information with lone insignificant injuries aft the vas ran aground connected the reef it was surveying astir a mile disconnected the seashore of Upolu, Samoa's astir populous island. The origin of the catastrophe is not known.

"The 1 happening that we already cognize did not origin it is the sex of the ship's captain, a pistillate with 30 years' naval acquisition who connected the nighttime made the telephone to get her radical to safety," Collins said.

One of the posters was a motortruck operator from Melbourne, Australia, she added.

"I deliberation that helium should support his comments to radical who thrust trucks alternatively than radical who thrust ships," Collins said. "These are the sorts of radical I'm calling retired and I'm blessed to support calling them retired for arsenic agelong arsenic it takes to halt this behavior."

About 20% of New Zealand's uniformed subject members are women. Collins is New Zealand's archetypal pistillate defence curate and said she stood alongside Gray and Maj. Gen. Rose King, the country's archetypal pistillate service chief, who assumed her relation successful June.

"We are each appointed connected merit, not gender," said Collins.

The sinking prompted fears of a large substance spill. On Thursday, officials successful Samoa said portion the vas was leaking lipid from 3 places, the magnitude was reducing each time and was dissipating rapidly owed to beardown winds successful the area.

Most of the ship's substance appeared to person burned retired successful the fire, according to a connection by the Marine Pollution Advisory Committee. Officials were owed to conscionable with locals Thursday to sermon however to region the vessel's anchor and 3 shipping containers from the reef without further damaging the fragile marine ecosystem.

New Zealand's authorities has ordered a subject tribunal of enquiry into the episode, which volition beryllium led by elder subject officers. It volition assemble for the archetypal clip connected Friday.

Passengers, including civilian scientists and overseas subject personnel, near the vas connected lifeboats successful "challenging conditions" and darkness, New Zealand's Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding told reporters aft the sinking.

Those connected committee person since returned to New Zealand by plane.

The specializer dive and hydrographic vas had been successful work for New Zealand since 2019 but was 20 years aged and had antecedently belonged to Norway. The subject said the ship, purchased for $100 cardinal NZ dollars ($61 million), was not covered by replacement insurance.

The authorities of New Zealand's aging subject hardware has prompted warnings from the defence agency, which successful a March study described the navy arsenic "extremely fragile," with ships idle owed to problems retaining the unit needed to work and support them. Of the navy's 8 remaining ships, 5 are presently operational.

Golding said the HMNZS Manawanui underwent a attraction play earlier the deployment.