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 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.
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 its fuel had burnt off and the ship had leaked oil from various locations, sparking concerns for 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 was tasked with cleaning up debris.
Peters emphasized that the New Zealand government is committed to working with Samoa regarding the ship's future, recognizing the impact the sinking has had on local communities and the disruption it has caused.
He added that minimizing environmental impacts and supporting the response are top priorities, indicating that disciplinary actions resulting from the incident are still being decided as an investigation continues.
Initially, an inquiry revealed several human errors, including a failure to disengage the ship's autopilot, as the cause of the crash.
In the days following the incident, social media saw heavy trolling directed at the ship's female captain, a response criticized by New Zealand's defense minister as indicative of 'armchair admirals.'
