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Lieutenant Samuel Hanney has appeared before a court martial over an incident aboard the 133-meter HMS “Sutherland” frigate of the British Royal Navy. Hanney is accused of leaving his post aboard the £143 million warship and effectively leaving trainee Lieutenant Thomas McNally alone.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that hearings in the case are being held at Bulford Military Court.
The incident allegedly occurred on April 3, 2025, while the ship was at sea. During the morning watch, Hanney allegedly used a computer to prepare weather charts instead of monitoring other vessels and potential threats.
Prosecutor Luis Canosa told the court that Hanney remained behind a curtain that blocked the computer screen’s light for more than 20 minutes. In a statement to military police, Hanney said the period lasted 14 minutes. However, computer data reportedly showed that he had logged into the system from 04:09 to 04:30 and was away from his post for about 21 minutes.
Canosa accused Hanney of failing to properly ensure the ship’s safety, failing to supervise the second officer of the watch and failing to effectively manage the crew on the bridge. At the time, the ship was sailing from Plymouth, on Britain’s southern coast, toward Lyme Bay in Dorset.
Thomas McNally, who was serving as the second officer of the watch, said he was at the initial stage of his training and had completed only 100 of the 600 hours required for qualification.
McNally told the court that after realizing Hanney had disappeared from his post, he understood that nobody was monitoring the area outside the ship. He said he considered the situation dangerous but remained inactive for some time because of tension and fear.
According to McNally, Hanney established two geographical positions 30 minutes apart, leading him to believe that the officer had been absent for about an hour. The trainee officer first reported the matter to another crew member and later to the ship’s captain.
The Navy’s navigation officer, Thomas Boeckx, said the incident could not be unequivocally classified as negligence without knowing how long Hanney had stopped conducting an external watch.
Boeckx said the officer of the watch could use various tools, including radar, and perform certain tasks behind the curtain as long as the visibility of other crew members was not restricted. However, he said an officer could leave the post for only two or three minutes at a time, and for five minutes at most.
A statement given to military police said that accidentally remaining behind the curtain for 14 minutes would constitute professional incompetence, and that the person should be removed from duty and sent for additional training. If done deliberately, the action could be considered negligence, the statement said.
Hearings in the case continue at Bulford Military Court.
