HMNZS Manawanui (1948) was a naval tug

Tug

Tuğ is a village in the Khojavend Rayon of Azerbaijan....

 which was modified for use as a diving tender by the Royal New Zealand Navy

Royal New Zealand Navy

The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...

 (RNZN).

She was built in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

 in 1945 by Steel Ships Ltd for the USN as the US Navy tug YLT622. She was transferred to the New Zealand Marine Department who named her Tug 622 and used her to service the large post-war fleet of surplus ships scattered around Waitemata Harbour.

In 1948 Tug 622 was transferred to the RNZN and became HMNZS Manawanui. Manawanui was the first

HMNZS Manawanui

HMNZS Manawanui can refer to* HMNZS Manawanui - the first diving tender of the New Zealand navy from 1953 to 1978* HMNZS Kahu - the second diving tender, called HMNZS Manawanui from 1978 to 1988...

 of three boats with this name to serve in the New Zealand Navy. It is also a Māori

Maori language

Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...

 word meaning "to be brave or steadfast".

In 1953 she was converted to a diving tender and functioned in this role for the next 15 years. In 1956 she assisted in recovering an Avenger aircraft that had ditched in Hauraki Gulf. In 1957 she towed the badly damaged patrol launch SDML P3561 off rocks near Rangipukea Island and beached her in a nearby bay. In 1958 she investigated the wreck of the coaster Holmglen off Timaru.

She was replaced as a diving tender by a specially modified Moa class boat with the same name in 1978.

In November 1978 she was sold for a nominal sum, to the Paeroa Historic Maritime Park for preservation and display. Her future seems uncertain.