New Zealand's government has paid Samoa 10 million Samoan Tala (NZD 6 million; £2.6 million) 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 was 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 seafloor 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 reported that not all 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 from the ship while a New Zealand naval team was tasked with clearing debris.
Peters noted, We recognize the impact the sinking has had on local communities and acknowledge the disruption it caused. He emphasized that minimizing any possible environmental impacts and supporting the response were priorities.
Any disciplinary proceedings concerning the incident are yet to be determined, but the New Zealand Defence Force is nearing the conclusion of its investigation.
An inquiry into the incident found a series of human errors, notably a failure to disengage the ship's autopilot, as the primary cause of the crash.
In the days that followed the crash, social media users began trolling the ship's female captain, incorrectly attributing blame to her gender. These commenters were criticized by New Zealand's defense minister as armchair admirals.
