The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has announced details of its Court of Inquiry (COI) into the sinking of HMNZS Manawanui in Samoa.

The dive and hydrographic ship struck a reef south of Upolu on Saturday 5 October. All 75 people aboard were successfully rescued.

Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding has directed the assembly of a COI into the sinking of HMNZS Manawanui and has appointed Commodore Melissa Ross as the president. The COI will assemble on Friday.

She will be joined by three senior military members - Captain Andrew Mahoney, Group Captain John McWilliam, from the Royal New Zealand Air Force and Captain Dean Battilana, who has been seconded from the Royal Australian Navy.

Counsel assisting the COI will be Commander Jonathan Rowe, who is a barrister and solicitor of the High Court.

COIs are set up to establish the facts of an incident and any circumstances leading to it to allow the NZDF to identify possible improvements or changes for the future.

The terms of reference direct the COI to collect and record evidence and report on the sequence of events leading up to the loss of the ship, the cause of the grounding and subsequent sinking, and details on notification procedures, injuries sustained and any environmental damage.

The COI has also been directed to consider any organisational aspects relevant to the loss, and the material state of Manawanui prior to the grounding.

Courts of Inquiry into significant matters may be subject to an external legal review to provide independent assurance of their procedure and conclusions. External legal reviews are conducted by independent King’s Counsel or other senior barristers. For the COI into the sinking of HMNZS Manawanui, it has been determined that an external legal review will be conducted by a King’s Counsel.

Rear Admiral Golding said he was very aware of the high interest in the COI.

“Given the high level of public interest in this and with transparency at front of mind, I will make the report publicly available to the maximum extent possible consistent with the Privacy Act and my obligations to uphold national security,” Rear Admiral Golding said.

“I have directed the Court to provide me with an interim report on specific areas by mid-November, and then to provide regular updates on the progress of their inquiry from there.”

Notes:

Courts of Inquiry are established by an officer in charge of part of the Armed Forces to inquire into any matter.

The court must have no less than two officers and the officer assembling the court must appoint one of those members as the president. The officer assembling the court must issue its terms of reference and the court is required to collect evidence and provide a report against those terms of reference.

The court may sit wherever it considers necessary to do so and may direct or summons any witness to attend before it. Witnesses are sworn and their evidence is transcribed. Any person who may have their character and reputation affected is afforded natural justice rights by the president.

Courts of Inquiry are not designed to determine guilt of any individual and the evidence gathered is not admissible in other proceedings.

Courts of Inquiry are established under statute and are provided numerous powers and protections so that the fact-finding procedure is as expeditious as possible. Courts of Inquiry are statutorily required to be held in private to ensure that there is no inhibition on witnesses giving full and frank evidence.

The provisions governing courts of inquiry can be found at sections 200 to 201 of the Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971.

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