Royal Australian Navy Captain Dean Battilana has been seconded to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) as a member of the Court of Inquiry (COI) into the loss of HMNZS Manawanui (A09) off the South Coast of Upolu, Samoa’s second-largest island, on 6 October.
Commodore Melissa Ross, the former Deputy Chief of the Royal New Zealand Navy, has been appointed as the President of the COI. RNZN Captain Andrew Mahoney and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Group Captain John McWilliam have been appointed as the other two members of the COI alongside Captain Battilana.
"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 New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) said in a statement.
The COI cannot determine guilt and any evidence gathered is not admissible in other proceedings. A redacted version of its final report is expected to eventually be made public.
“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," said the Chief of the RNZN, Rear Admiral Garin Golding.
HMNZS Canterbury (L421) has also begun a deployment to Samoa to support the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) and aid the response to the loss of Manawanui.