Trolls target Navy Commander after New Zealand warship sinks

The hatred has forced the country’s Defence Minister to slam the “armchair admirals” and reassure the public that the commander’s gender had nothing to do with the incident.

Internet trolls have cruelly targeted New Zealand Navy Captain Yvonne Gray after a $100 million ship sank under her command.

The hatred has forced the country’s Defence Minister to slam the “armchair admirals” and reassure the public that Commander Gray’s gender had nothing to do with the incident.

HMNZS Manawanui (Maori for ‘steadfast’), the Royal New Zealand’s Navy dive and hydrographic vessel, was surveying a reef south of the Samoan island of Upolu when it ran aground on Saturday.

The ship burst into flames, capsized and sank about 9am on Sunday.

Thankfully no one was seriously injured. The 75 crew and passengers abandoned ship, and lifeboats were hauled to the safety of Australian and Samoan rescuers.

The ship's commander Yvonne Gray. Picture: NZ Defence Force

HMNZS Manawanui. Picture: NZ Defence Force

It is the first instance in peacetime that a New Zealand Navy ship has been lost. A Court of Inquiry has been launched to establish what went wrong.

Online trolls have unfairly taken aim at Commander Gray, who has been in charge of the vessel since 2022.

Commander Gray is originally from the UK and moved to New Zealand in 2012 with her wife Sharon.

Some online accused Commander Gray of being appointed to the role because of her gender and/or sexuality rather than her outstanding qualifications.

HMNZS Manawanui. Picture: NZ Defence Force

“The commanding officer Commander Yvonne Gray was a DEI hire. Her qualifications: a woman and a lesbian,” one vile troll wrote on X.

“She sank 12 per cent of her country’s fleet in a day, without enemy engagement or storm. Diversity is our strength,” another wrote.

John McLean, author of A Mission of Honour: A History Of The Royal Navy In The Pacific 1769-1997, said the incident raises the issue of “over-promoting” in the Navy, in order to meet “gender and sexual orientation goals”.

New Zealand’s first female Defence Minister Judith Collins rubbished the claims on Thursday.

“People who will never have to make decisions which mean life or death for their subordinates,” she said.

The ship's commander Yvonne Gray has been criticised.

“The one thing that we already know did not cause it is the gender of the ship’s captain.

“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.

“A court of inquiry has been stood up to establish what caused this terrible incident.”

In a press conference on Sunday Ms Collins praised the commander saying the fact that no one died was “something of a triumph, frankly, given the very, very difficult circumstances”.

Commander Gray has enjoyed a decorated three-decade career in the British and New Zealand Navy.

All 75 crew were rescued. Picture: Samoa FESA

On Tuesday she praised her team who “responded in the way I needed then to”.

“They acted with commitment, with comradeship and, above all, with courage,’ she said in a Defence Force statement.

Chief of the Navy, Rear Admiral Garin Golding, said Commander Gray made the “right call” to abandon the ship.

“It’s a testament to her experience and skill as a commander,” he said.

Two crew members were sent to hospital, one with a dislocated shoulder and the other with a sore back. Others suffered minor cuts and bruises.