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.
The HMNZS Manawanui started leaking oil into the ocean after it sank, 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.
The 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 sea floor 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 its fuel had burned off and the ship leaked oil from various locations—sparking concerns about local marine wildlife.
Since the ship's grounding, the HMNZS Manawanui has remained on the reef, but diesel fuel, oil, and other pollutants have been removed while a New Zealand naval team was tasked with removing debris.
Peters underlined that the New Zealand government continues to work with Samoa regarding the ship's present condition and future actions. 'We recognise the impact the sinking has had on local communities and acknowledge the disruption it caused,' he said, emphasizing the importance of minimizing environmental impacts.
An investigation into the incident identified a series of human errors, including a failure to disengage the ship's autopilot, as contributing factors to the crash. The incident also drew inappropriate criticism towards the ship's captain, which was denounced by New Zealand's defense minister as unjustified trolling.
