Samoa village elders still seeking compensation, want Manawanui wreck removed

It has been almost a year since the HMNZS Manawanui sunk off the southcoast of Upolu in Samoa.

But people living in affected coastal communities say their calls for fair compensation and the removal of the wreck continue to fall on deaf ears.

RNZ Pacific journalist Grace Fiavaai and visual journalist Mark Papalii paid a visit to the site of the wreck at Tafitoala and spoke with some local elders while in Samoa for the recent national general election.

The sixth of October will mark exactly a year since the Manawanui maritime disaster.

Work to remove toxic materials from the ship has been completed by salvors and the Samoa government has given the all clear and reopened the wreck and surrounding reef area for fishing.

It has also decided to let the ship remain where it lies.

But local elders say the maritime disaster has caused long-lasting damage and continues to affect the livelihood of their communities.

They want fair compensation for the environmental damage and for the wreck of the Manawanui to be removed from the Tafitoala Reef.

Tafitoala elder Puleaga Visesio Patea Fatu said the once-rich fishing grounds have been destroyed.

"There was a season before this (incident) where this was once like a house full of fish (tulou le gagana- excuse my language) hence why I have said that there is no longer any good fish here since the sinking of the boat.

"But this is where it was pounding with fish for this village, as I mentioned to media before, I said this place was like a place where money came in like nothing because of the fish and other seafood we were able to sell; before the ship had sunk, we would be out fishing from Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - to the markets.

"Now the markets back then, say if we had five to six people who went out fishing, they'd all go out with coolers full or filled with fish but nowadays, there is nothing like that available," Puleaga said.

Another Tafitoala resident, Taula Leka Leituala, said he now has to travel to Siumu Village to fish at considerable cost.

"The petrol is expensive especially when we have to go by car, stay in those villages and also go out to sea in their village.

"Fishing here in Tafitoala is indeed a failure now, fish and meat and oysters and any kind of seafood are now limited, but before the ship hadn't sunk things were perfect there was no major effect but now yeah big impacts.

"The ship needs to be removed because come to think of it, when the metal from the ship rots, I am pretty sure this whole village's livelihood will be impacted," Taula said.

The impact of the maritime disaster is also being felt beyond Tafitoala.

Residents of Sataoa, further up the coast in the Safata District, say currents carry the debris and fuel from the wreck and they end up in Sataoa.

Fotuotupe Lemafanaolegutu, a matai from Sataoa, said the impacts in the aftermath of the Manawanui disaster are still fresh in peoples' minds.

"Well if you look back at what had happened, you could see the togo especially when the tide is low, you can see the leaves dried up, now when the incident had happened, on Sunday this whole village couldn't bear to stay here, because of the smell of the oil it was very strong, even the fish to kill, when we cooked it up to eat especially the anae (mullet) when cooked that's when you could really smell it.

"There were a lot of concerns and there was a sense of sadness when the report from government came back saying there is no impact on Safata from this incident but it would be nice if they all came to witness for themselves the things we experience here," Fotuotupe said.

Safata 2 MP Tuia Logoiai Pu'a Letoa, who was elected last month under the banner of the opposition Human Rights Protection Party, said he will push for accountability.

"As of now, we don't have firm answers from both governments," Tuia said.

"We still have to fight for the government of Samoa and the government of New Zealand to consider compensation for the livelihoods and also the damage already done to our environment."

The Manawanui, an 85-metre hydrographic vessel, was on its third Pacific deployment when it left Auckland in September last year.

The final Court of Inquiry report, released in April this year, highlighted multiple failings, from training gaps and operational planning to leadership and supervision issues.

RNZ submitted two separate Official Information Act requests to the NZDF about the Manawanui disaster.

The NZ Defence Force told RNZ it did not do any environmental testing itself. "The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has not undertaken any environmental testing," it said in response to an Official Information Act request.

It took five months for the NZDF to respond, instead of the mandated 20 days.

"NZDF media updates have stated that regular testing has been undertaken by the Government of Samoa's agency, the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa (SROS). While the NZDF holds copies of these reports and associated information, it is withheld."

This was on the grounds that Samoa provided the information in confidence. It also withheld its correspondence with the Samoan government for the same reason.

Leaders from impacted Samoan communities, including some matai living overseas, said the wreck poses an ongoing threat to livelihoods.

Taliilagi Mauava Tuupo Toleafoa Vaatausili who lives in New Zealand but was home for the election said the ship cannot remain where it is.

"If there is no plan around this (ship) just like the elder Matai said they were the ones who used to fish here and even there children won't be able to and especially the future and next generation of this village who are affected, money and income that come from being able to fish is now a concern, this boat needs to be removed and it cannot stay here," Taliilagi said.

In February, frustrated by a lack of response to requests for compensation from both the Samoa and New Zealand governments, local elders turned to China for assistance.

Within a day of the request the Chinese Embassy in Apia responded with a WST$50,000 donation (approximately US$18,670).

Former Samoa prime minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa who was in power when the Manawanui sank said responding to the disaster was a difficult and complex.

"The priority was to clear any toxic elements from the ship, monitoring the impacts on the environment and then monitoring the impact on the villagers in terms of livelihoods."

Fiame said compensation talks with New Zealand over its sunken navy vessel will need to be initiated by Samoa's newly installed government.

She told RNZ Pacific environmental studies required to inform compensation talks have already been conducted.

"The New Zealand government has been very forthcoming in working with us in the earlier stages. And now we had to do a survey to advise New Zealand in terms of compensation. I think that's more or less finalised. So it's just a matter of beginning to do the implementation," Fiame said.

The former prime minister also shed some new light on what the Manawanui was doing off the south coast.

She said the Manawanui was off the coast to help with security for King Charles, who was due to arrive in the country at the time and was to be accommodated in the area.

"It was part of the security for CHOGM and especially for King Charles because he was accommodated on the south side. You know all the collaborating parties including New Zealand you know I think this was their contribution to that security being provided by the CHOGM leaders," Fiame said.

Timeline:

-On Saturday 5 October 2024, HMNZS Manawanui was conducting survey operations on the southern side of Apia, Samoa in a strong breeze of up to 25 knots and moderate swell.

-The survey was conducted in a box-shaped area, running east to west in survey lanes that start on the outside, working inwards.

-At about 6.15pm, the ship's crew attempted a routine turn to starboard, initially to a course of 340 degrees, within the survey area, as part of a turn. The crew attempted to turn off the 340 degree course to starboard towards an easterly course but the ship did not respond as intended.

-Shortly after, Manawanui left the approved survey area, and in an effort to stop the ship, the crew conducted further actions that they believed should have resulted in the ship essentially braking.

-Manawanui did not slow or stop, and instead the ship started to accelerate towards the reef, grounding for the first time at or about 6.17pm at a speed of more than 10 knots.

-The ship then travelled around 635 metres (700 yards) before becoming stranded, grounding multiple times along the way.

-Full control of Manawanui's propulsion system was not regained until 10 minutes later, at 6.27pm, when the ship's autopilot was disengaged. The inability to turn the ship to an easterly direction from the 340 degree course and stop the ship is attributed to the ship being in autopilot mode.

- Unsuccessful attempts were then made to manoeuvre the ship off the reef.

-Manawanui was brought to emergency stations after the grounding, and searches were conducted to check for damage.

-No damage or flooding was detected inside the ship. However, stability assessments made after the grounding indicated Manawanui was no longer stable.

-At approximately 6.46pm, about 30 minutes after the initial grounding, the decision was made to abandon ship.

-The timeliness of the decision to abandon ship and to keep Manawanui's generators running contributed to the successful abandonment process and likely prevented serious injuries or death.

-The ship suffered a series of catastrophic fires after being abandoned, before capsizing and sinking on the morning of Sunday 6 October.