New Zealand will compensate Samoa $3.6M for a navy ship wreck a year after the vessel sank

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s government said Monday it had agreed to pay 10 million Samoan tala ($3.6 million) in compensation to Samoa’s government, a year after New Zealand sailors drove a navy ship aground on a reef off the Pacific Island nation.

All 75 people on board evacuated to safety as the boat foundered about 1.6 kilometers (a mile) off the coast of Upolu, Samoa’s second largest island before it caught fire and sank. The wreck of HMNZS Manawanui remains at the site of the sinking on Oct. 6, 2024, and a decision about whether it will remain there hasn't been made.

The vessel sank due to failings of the crew and ship, an official inquiry found. The ship’s crew didn’t realize the vessel was on autopilot and believed something else had gone wrong as it plowed toward the reef, according to a report that highlighted the lack of training, qualifications and experience among those on board.

The compensation announced by New Zealand foreign minister Winston Peters on Monday was the full amount requested by Samoa's government, a spokesperson for Peters said. It will be drawn from New Zealand military funds.

“We have responded to the Government of Samoa’s request in full and with good faith," Peters said in a statement. “We have always said we will do the right thing.”

Samoa's government didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

New Zealand officials would continue to work with the Samoan counterparts to decide the future of the wreck, Peters said. Work so far has included the removal of fallen shipping containers, pollutants and military equipment.

An independent wreck assessment and environmental studies are expected, according to a statement from New Zealand's military.

“It is pleasing to note that monitoring by the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa has shown the seawater in the area is clear and uncontaminated from elevated hydrocarbons resulting in the warning on fishing being lifted completely in February,” Capt. Rodger Ward of the New Zealand Defense Force said in a statement.

The military recognized “the impact that the sinking has had on the people of Samoa, particularly the communities of the South coast,” Ward said.

The specialist dive and hydrographic vessel had been in service for New Zealand since 2019 and was surveying the reef that it ran aground on. Its sinking provoked alarm about environmental catastrophe for Samoan villagers living on the coast where it capsized, who said they feared permanent damage to the fragile reef ecosystem.

The military said work was underway to implement the wide-ranging recommendations made by a Court of Inquiry into the disaster, which published its final report in April. Any disciplinary proceedings against those on board have yet to be determined, Monday's statement said.

The vessel, one of only nine in New Zealand's navy, was the first the country had lost at sea since World War II.