The ultimate DEI hire just cost the New Zealand Navy its newest and biggest ship after its first lesbian captain accidentally ran the ship aground, caught it on fire, and then sunk it.
It would make a wonderful sitcom episode, of course, but sadly it is real life.
The HMNZS Manawanui was a $100 million survey and dive vessel commissioned only six years ago by the New Zealand Navy. But now it is just a burned out, half sunk hulk lying off the coast of Samoa, thanks to its diversity hire of a captain, Commander Yvonne Gray.
🇳🇿 Video of the New Zealand Navy’s survey and salvage ship, HMNZS Manawanui, after running aground off Samoa.
She’s likely a total loss, leaving the Royal New Zealand Navy with just 5 fully operational ships.
📝 This is the first peacetime loss of a Royal New Zealand Navy… pic.twitter.com/1aSHr9f9wT
— Anonymous Patriot (@0331online) October 7, 2024
Commander Gray is a British citizen who only moved to New Zealand in 2012.
The lesbian captain is the perfect example of a diversity hire. She checked all the boxes, but not any of the skills, it appears.
From Captain Yvonne Gray's bio on the navy website
"This was her first ship command in a naval career. She said her eyes lit up at the thought of taking command of Manawanui, which entered service with the Royal New Zealand Navy three years ago.
Diversity hire success story. pic.twitter.com/xLMuIuDMuW
— Crypto Mike👾 (@Crypt0_mike_) October 6, 2024
Per CNN:
The specialist dive and hydrographic vessel lost power and ran aground on Saturday evening while conducting a reef survey one nautical mile off the southern coast of the Samoan island of Upolu, according to New Zealand authorities.
By Sunday morning, the vessel was ‘listing heavily,’ the navy said. Smoke was spotted around 6:40 a.m., and by 9 a.m. the ship had slipped below the surface.
It’s the first unintentional sinking of a New Zealand naval vessel since World War II, authorities said, as they opened a court of inquiry into what happened.
The $100m vessel was on fire and listing heavily, after running aground before 7pm last night. Footage from the scene showed smoke billowing from the stranded ship.
The ship ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu, with all on board evacuating to "life rafts and sea boats",… pic.twitter.com/ya5osernWw
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) October 6, 2024
Good job, New Zealand.
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