New Zealand Compensates Samoa After Naval Ship Disaster

Tue Oct 14 2025 15:00:39 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

After the sinking of the HMNZS Manawanui, New Zealand has compensated Samoa with 10 million Samoan Tala, addressing environmental concerns and the impact on local communities.

In response to the sinking of the HMNZS Manawanui, New Zealand's government has paid 10 million Samoan Tala to Samoa. The naval ship crashed into a reef last year, causing significant environmental damage by leaking oil and affecting local wildlife. All crew members were rescued, and New Zealand is now focused on environmental restoration and future collaborations with Samoa.

New Zealand's government has paid Samoa 10m Samoan Tala (NZD 6m; £2.6m) after one of its naval ships crashed into a reef in Samoan waters before catching fire and sinking last year.

HMNZS Manawanui started leaking oil into the ocean after it sunk, with reports of sea turtles dying and slicks appearing on nearby Samoan beaches.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters stated that the payment had been made at Samoa's request.

HMNZS Manawanui was the first ship New Zealand lost at sea since World War Two. It was one of nine ships in the country's small naval fleet and had been surveying an area of seabed that had not been mapped in decades when it ran aground.

All 75 people aboard were successfully rescued from the vessel as it began listing off the coast of the Samoan island Upolu exactly a year ago.

Despite being seen billowing smoke as it went down, Samoan officials later confirmed that not all of its fuel had burnt off, and the ship leaked oil from various locations, sparking concerns about local marine wildlife.

Since the ship's grounding, HMNZS Manawanui has remained on the reef, but diesel fuel, oil, and other pollutants have been removed while a New Zealand naval team has been tasked with debris removal.

Peters emphasized that the New Zealand government was continuing to collaborate with Samoa on decisions relating to the ship and its future, acknowledging the impact of the sinking on local communities and prioritizing environmental restoration efforts.

He added that minimizing any environmental impacts and supporting the response were our absolute priorities. An inquiry into the incident found a series of human errors, including a failure to disengage the ship's autopilot, as the root cause of the crash.

In the aftermath, social media users began trolling the ship's female captain, claiming her gender was to blame, a sentiment denounced by New Zealand's defense minister at the time as armchair admirals.