NZ PAYS SAMOA MILLIONS AFTER NAVAL SHIP CRASH

New Zealand Compensates Samoa After Naval Shipwreck and Oil Spill

New Zealand's government has paid Samoa 10 million Samoan Tala (approximately NZD 6 million; £2.6 million) after one of its naval vessels ran aground on a reef in Samoan waters, caught fire, and sank last year.

The ship, HMNZS Manawanui, began leaking oil into the ocean after it went down, leading to reports of dead sea turtles and oil slicks washing up on nearby Samoan beaches.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters confirmed that the payment was made at Samoa's request, acknowledging the environmental and community impact of the incident.

The loss of Manawanui marked the first time since World War Two that New Zealand has lost a naval ship at sea. One of just nine vessels in the country's small naval fleet, the ship had been mapping an area of seabed that had not been surveyed in decades when it struck the reef.

All 75 crew members were safely rescued after the vessel began listing off the coast of Upolu, one of Samoa's main islands, exactly a year ago.

Although the ship was seen billowing smoke as it sank, Samoan officials later confirmed that not all of its fuel had burned, and that oil had leaked from multiple points, raising serious concerns for local marine life.

Since the grounding, the wreck has remained lodged on the reef. However, diesel, oil, and other pollutants have been removed, and a New Zealand naval team has been working to clear remaining debris.

In a statement, Peters said that New Zealand continues to collaborate with Samoa on decisions regarding the ship's future.

"We recognise the impact the sinking has had on local communities and acknowledge the disruption it caused," he said.
"Minimising environmental harm and supporting the recovery effort remain our absolute priorities."

The New Zealand Defence Force is finalising its investigation, and disciplinary actions, if any, are yet to be determined.

An official inquiry found that a series of human errors — including a failure to disengage the ship's autopilot — led to the crash.

In the aftermath, social media trolls targeted the ship's female captain, wrongly blaming her gender for the incident — comments swiftly condemned by New Zealand's defence minister, who dismissed the critics as "armchair admirals."