MV Holmglen II was a steel-hull coastal trader built in 1956 by Maartenshoek, Netherlands-based shipyard Bodewes Scheepswerven for the Holm Shipping Company of New Zealand.
On 23 November 1959, the ship left Dunedin, New Zealand, for Wanganui via Wellington, under the command of Captain Edward Joseph Eugene Regnaud.
On the evening of 24 November, a mayday from Holmglen was received by the Taiaroa Head Signal and Radio Station, and a voice believed to be that of the captain reported, "am heeling heavily to port ... accommodation awash ... preparing to launch boat."
A sea and air search was conducted, and the wreck of Holmglen was found by another Holm Shipping Company vessel, MV Holmburn.
After the crew of Holmburn spotted an oil slick, they used sonar to locate the exact position, which was later confirmed by the Royal New Zealand Navy underwater video and divers.