New Zealand’s defense minister issued stinging rebukes of what she said were “vile” and “misogynistic” online remarks by “armchair admirals” about the woman captain of a navy ship that ran aground, caught fire and sank off the coast of Samoa.

New Zealand's Defense Minister has clapped back at claims that the appointment of a female captain to commandeer a $61 million navy ship ultimately led to its sinking. The navy's specialist dive and hydrographic vessel,

New Zealand's defense minister issued stinging rebukes of what she said were “vile” and “misogynistic” online remarks by “armchair admirals” about the woman captain of a navy ship that ran aground, caught fire and sank off the coast of Samoa.

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.

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. It later caught fire and capsized.

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