The Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel HMS Tamar - a ship with links to Falmouth and Truro in Cornwall - remains on patrol off the coast of Upolo, Samoa at the location where the New Zealand Navy survey vessel HMNZS Manawanui sank after hitting a reef.

Tamar is searching for flotsam from the wreck and monitoring oil pollution. The ship is likely to remain off the island helping provide security and logistical support in the immediate area until HMNZS Canterbury, a logistics ship, arrives with specialist oil recovery equipment and divers.

Reports from New Zealand claim that the Manawanui suffered a power outage before grounding, catching fire and sinking. The Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth was in the area at the time of the sinking.

Manawanui’s Commander Yvonne Gray, originally from Yorkshire, took command of the ship in 2022.

She joined the Royal Navy serving in HM ships Invincible, Cromer, Bridport and Walney. Completing the Principal Warfare Officer Course, she was assigned to the frigate Westminster.

Commander Gray moved to New Zealand in 2012 after a campervan holiday where she and her wife fell in love with the country, after which she joined the Royal New Zealand Navy.