by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News October 13, 2024

The Royal New Zealand Navy’s HMNZS Manawanui has sunk.

Capt. Yvonne Gray

The vessel became the first ship in New Zealand’s fleet to sink since World War II.

Being helmed by Yvonne Gray, the New Zealand Navy’s first lesbian captain, the ship sank in the early morning hours of Sunday after it caught fire and capsized just one nautical mile from the Samoan island of Upolu.

The ship is the first to be lost during peacetime in the history of New Zealand.

All 75 of the personnel aboard the vessel were evacuated before it sunk.

Gray’s appointment to the post “was celebrated by the New Zealand Defense Ministry as a crowning achievement of its mission to cultivate an inclusive military. In the wake of the ship’s sinking, the motives behind promoting her to that post have become the focal point of fervent criticism as to whether her appointment was based on merit or political expediency,” Zero Hedge noted.

New Zealand Chief Of Navy Rear Adm. Garin Golding stated that the HMNZS Manawanui underwent routine maintenance before its final deployment, with no indications of any structural or mechanical issues that would have led to its sinking.

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That didn’t stop New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins, who herself was named the first woman to lead the defense ministry in the country’s history, from slamming Gray’s critics as “armchair admirals. I thought seriously in 2024 what the hell is going on here with people who are sitting there in their armchair operating a keyboard making comments about people that they do not know, about an area they do not know and they are just vile. Where’s a bit of decency.”

The New Zealand Royal Navy’s HMNZS Manawanui sank after running aground near the southern coast of Upolu, Samoa. It caught fire and sank.

The ship’s lesbian captain Yvonne Gray cost the navy some $100 million for sinking the ship. Diversity in action. pic.twitter.com/8GJxUHAtIx

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 7, 2024

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  DEI strikes again: Navy ship helmed by New Zealand’s first lesbian captain sinks, WorldTribune.com