SYDNEY, Nov 29 (Reuters) – A Royal New Zealand Navy vessel ran aground and sank off the coast of Samoa last month as a result of human error, a government-initiated inquiry found on Friday.

HMNZS Manawanui, the navy’s specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, grounded on a reef on the southern side of Samoa on Oct. 5 while conducting survey operations. Fortunately, all 75 crew members on board survived.

“The direct cause of the grounding has been determined as a series of human errors which meant the ship’s autopilot was not disengaged when it should have been,” stated Rear Admiral Gavin Golding, head of New Zealand’s Navy.

The crew mistakenly believed a thruster control failure was causing the ship’s lack of response to direction changes, unaware that the autopilot was still engaged. An extensive inquiry to understand why this oversight occurred is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.

Following the completion of the wider inquiry, a separate disciplinary process will be initiated for those involved in the incident.

Prior to the sinking of the Manawanui, New Zealand’s Navy had been facing resource challenges, with three of its nine ships already inactive due to personnel shortages.