New Zealand's defense minister, Judith Collins, condemned the "vile" and "misogynistic" online comments aimed at Commander Yvonne Gray, the captain of a navy ship that sank off Samoa.

The Royal New Zealand Navy’s hydrographic survey ship, HMNZS Manawanui, has capsized and sunk after running aground on a reef off the coast of Samoa. Fortunately, all crew members and passengers were rescued and are safe.

HMNZS Manawanui - sank after hitting a reef in the Pacific nation of Samoa. The incident forced its captain to order the 75 crew onto life rafts or smaller vessels, and abandoning ship. But there are fears a huge oil spill could devastate local marine life.

Samoa on Tuesday said it had detected and contained "small leakages" from a New Zealand navy vessel wrecked on a reef while carting almost 1,000 tonnes of diesel.

Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) divers were on the water at first light today to assess the wreckage of the ship, which ran on to a reef south of Upolu on Saturday night and sunk on Sunday morning. “The dive team has begun assessing the area where HMNZS Manawanui sank to better understand the environmental impacts and clean-up efforts required in Samoa,