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$100M Naval Ship Disaster – Runs Aground, Catches Fire, Sinks, Creates Oil Spill With Lesbian DEI-Hire at the Helm

Some stories can make you laugh, cry, shake your head, and feel sorry for everyone involved all at the same time (maybe laugh some more…) – even while you’re completely exasperated because of the “wokeness” that keeps playing a role in these ridiculous incidents.  This… is that story, if there ever was one.

And with that, let me introduce you to Captain Yvonne Gray.  She just had a really, really bad day (night…) along with the 75 crew and passengers under her command.

Captain Yvonne Gray was piloting her ship (one of only 6 fully operational ships that the Royal New Zealand Navy has… er- had) in waters just off the Samoan coastline on Saturday night.

Everything was fine, until it wasn’t.

Yep.  That’s right.  The Royal New Zealand Navy put one of it’s 6 ships in the hands of someone whose placement was celebrated as a victory for the Royal Navy’s “diversity-first” approach, according to reports — including a story from The Gateway Pundit:

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Commander Gray, formerly a teacher from Yorkshire, England, took command of the vessel just last year. Her appointment marked another milestone in the Navy’s diversity agenda, but critics argue that such priorities may have overshadowed critical operational readiness.

Commodore Garin Golding praised Gray’s leadership, citing the complexity of a nighttime evacuation, but the incident has sparked debates on whether this “diversity-first” approach compromised the Navy’s standards.

It is her first ship command in a naval career that started in the United Kingdom in 1993 as a warfare officer. Her service as a warfare officer ranged from working on aircraft carriers to frigates and mine hunters.

In 2012, Commander Gray and her wife Sharon moved to New Zealand after falling in love with the country during a campervan holiday.

Shaking my head; that’s the point I’m at right now.  I can’t help but feel sorry for her.  The honest truth is… bad things happen.  It can happen to anyone.  You can be the most skilled, focused, qualified person for the job — and still the worst can happen.  That’s life!

But, it didn’t happen to “anyone”.  It happened to a diversity hire.  It happened to Yvonne Gray, who had allegedly never captained a ship before the Royal Navy of New Zealand handed her the keys… partly because she was a lesbian woman.

And… now I’m at the exasperated stage.  What part should gender or sexual preference play into a decision like that?  Zero.  That’s not some ideological position, it’s just common sense!  There should be one and ONLY one thing that determines who gets handed that sort of responsibility: MERIT!

Here’s a full-screen version of the video in the post above.  It’s not the shortest video… but it’s funny, and he makes some really good points.  (If you have the time, it’s really good!)

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The videos and images captured by the Samoans on the shore during the incident are just like the rest of this story; hilarious and ridiculous all at the same time.

Here’s a wild video of the night-time rescue operations.  Absolutely wild footage!  I can’t even imagine the feeling of having to abandon a burning ship, at night, and just hope you get rescued.  Absolutely wild!

Here’s a good breakdown of the incident covered by Reuters.  Apparently the ship was conducting research on a reef, and was lucky enough to have other ships in the area that responded with lifeboats.

Manawanui, the navy’s specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu on Saturday night as it was conducting a reef survey, Commodore Shane Arndell, the maritime component commander of the New Zealand Defence Force, said in a statement.

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Several vessels responded and assisted in rescuing the crew and passengers who had left the ship in lifeboats, Arndell said.

A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon was also deployed to assist in the rescue.
The cause of the grounding was unknown and would need further investigation, New Zealand Defence Force said.

Video and photos published on local media showed the Manawanui, which cost the New Zealand government NZ$103 million in 2018, listing heavily and with plumes of thick grey smoke rising after it ran aground.

The vessel later capsized and was below the surface by 9 a.m. local time, New Zealand Defence Force said.

There were apparently no serious injuries; only minor injuries including a few tender feet from walking over the reef!  (The laughing stage!  I told you this story would deliver across the board!)

But just as soon as you start laughing… there’s this.  The cost of this incident is going to be high.  But also the impact to the reef area where the ship went down.

In researching this story, I stumbled upon John Konrad — who was not afraid to say what I happened to be thinking already.  Here’s his definitively controversial, yet completely logical and rational take on the situation — at least in my opinion.  (I’ll drop the text of his post below for easier viewing.)

I have a very unconventional take on this incident that’s going to get me a lot of hate BUT it’s important.

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Lots of comments on X say “thankfully everyone abandoned ship safely”

Yes. It’s a great idea to prioritize life WHEN you have spare capacity BUT New Zealand does not.

This incident constitutes a full 10% of there entire naval fleet and China is getting aggressive nearby.

I was taught at @MaritimeCollege that a captains NUMBER 1 priority is to save as many lives as possible.

That means captains must make difficult decisions. Someday I might have to risk one man to enter the engine room to turn on a fire pump because I need water to rescue and save a half dozen lives.

As a Merchant Ship captain 99% of the time I’d abandon ship before risking one single life. Ships are insured, lives are not.

BUT I was also taught that the calculus for Navy captains are different.

Your job as CO of a warship is the same. Your job NUMBER ONE job is to protect as many lives as possible.

The BIG difference between a merchant ship and a Navy ship captain is I just have to protect the lives of my crew while a warship must protect a convoy, a carrier strike group or an entire nation.

Navy sailors drill harder on damage control because they MUST keep in the fight as long as there’s people nearby to protect.

Am I saying this captain should have sent a crew member to their probable death in order to save this ship? No, but leaving a skeleton crew on for firefighting is not probable death, it’s possible death.

Is it worth risking the lives of a dozen sailors to save one ship? Yes, firefighters o land take these risks often. But even if you disagree this isn’t one ship it’s 1/10th of the entire fleet!

A fleet that’s already undersized for the job of not only deterring China but aiding allies, providing humanitarian relief, emergency aide, and much more.

10% of the fleet is the equivalent of the US Navy loosing about 30 ships. Is that worth a few men possibly dying to protect? Of course it is.

I believe Commander Yvonne Gray made a dangerous choice by abandoning ship.

Worse still I’d bet money she is going to be decorated for making this poor choice.

And it’s not just New Zealand. This is exactly what we did with the uss bonhomme richard fire. The Captain who refused to fight was allowed to stay on celebrate the decommissioning ceremony while the one star Admiral who rushed down to fight the flames has faced investigations and a delayed promotion.

This is a BIG reason why our (and the majority of our Allies) military readiness is suffering.

Because taking justifiable risks gets you fired while risking the safety of an entire nation gets you decorated and praised.

What do you think?  Does John make a valid point?  I’m afraid, unfortunately for Captain Gray, that he does.  I can’t help but feel sorry for her.  I know she was only doing the best she could, and in all likelihood only had the best intentions at every point of decision during the entire ordeal.

But intentions aren’t everything.  Merit matters.  And the ability to make hard, cold calculations — even at risk to yourself, or others — in a situation like this… is very important.  And that’s not something you suddenly gain because you’re given a new position (say… a Captain of a Royal Navy ship).  You get it from experience.  And you dang sure don’t get it because of your gender, or because of your sexual preference.

And I’m back to the point of shaking my head in frustration.  DEI is a joke.  The “woke mind virus” is a real thing.  And it has completely destructed the ability of people to think rationally, instead of emotionally.

Has the Royal New Zealand Navy learned their lesson?  Probably not.  Like John said above… they’ll probably give Captain Gray an award and another ship — as soon as one of their other 3 become operational again.  Or who knows?  They might even “un-hire” one of the male heterosexual Captains of one of the remaining 5 working ships!  Then we can all celebrate the inclusiveness of the Navy again!

And I can’t help but wonder what New Zealand’s not-so-nice neighbor is thinking, watching all this play out.  I have a feeling there are no DEI hires at the helm of the Chinese warships increasingly encroaching on New Zealand’s territorial waters.  And… I’m exasperated, again — how about you?


 

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