Most were Royal New Zealand Navy ratings and officers but also aboard were several civilians from Metservice and GNS Science. When they came closer to the coordinates in the mayday call, the Lodbrog’s crew saw lights from the life rafts. The crew then lowered ladders and nets over the port side to allow 11 people from a Manawanui RIB to clamber up onto the cable ship. By this point, the Manawanui crew had spent several hours in the RIB and lifeboats, according to the account from the Lodbrog’s crew. HMNZS Manawanui began to list after it struck a reef and the crew abandoned ship on the Saturday evening.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 19, 2024 20:32 UTC