The Manawanui, the New Zealand Navy's specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, sank at a reef off the coast of Samoa that it was surveying.

Defence minister Judith Collins said Commander Yvonne Gray, who faced a barrage of online abuse, was ‘appointed on merit, not gender’.

New Zealand Defence Minister Collins has condemned sexist remarks blaming female captain for the HMNZS Manawanui sinking near Samoa.

New Zealand’s Defense Minister Judith Collins has decried what she called misogynistic online comments about the woman commander of a navy ship which ran aground, caught fire and sank off the coast of

New Zealand's Defence Minister on Thursday publicly criticised online trolling of the female captain of a naval vessel that sunk at the weekend, saying while the cause of the incident was unknown, it had nothing to do with the captain’s gender.

New Zealand’s Defense Minister Judith Collins has decried what she called misogynistic online comments about the woman commander of a navy ship which ran aground, caught fire and sank off the coast of Samoa on Sunday.

New Zealand’s defence minister has criticised "armchair admirals" for suggesting that a female captain’s gender was to blame for the sinking of one of the nation's naval ships. HMNZS Manawanui ran aground one nautical mile from the Samoan island of Upolu on Saturday night while surveying a reef.

The sinking of a Royal New Zealand Navy ship in the South Pacific had nothing to do with the fact that the British-born captain is a woman, the country’s defence minister said, criticising “armchair admirals” who are speculating on the causes of the disaster.