A New Zealand law professor is calling for the United Kingdom's role to be considered when it comes to compensation for villagers impacted by the sinking of Manawanui last year.
The naval vessel had been surveying the south coast of Upolu when it struck the Tafitoala reef, caught fire, and sank on 6 October 2024. Former Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa confirmed the survey work was connected to security preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) and the visit of King Charles, who was staying at a nearby resort.
New Zealand paid $6m in compensation to the Samoa government following the sinking, but Professor Paul Myburgh of Auckland University of Technology (AUT) said what Manawanui was doing on the south coast of Upolu needed to be considered.
"We know that it was, had basically been called in aid to survey that reef by the UK government so I would be interested to know what the UK government thinks its ethical and legal duty is towards those villagers. Basically if they had not made that request to the New Zealand navy this whole incident would never have happened," Myburgh said.
Letters released under the Official Information Act (OIA) show Samoa's Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested SAT$10 tala, equivalent to NZ$6 million, be paid by the New Zealand government following the sinking.
Pacific security expert Dr Iati Iati from Victoria University questioned whether New Zealand should be the only country paying compensation for the sinking of Manawanui.
"Given that Manawanui sank exactly around the same time that CHOGM was going on, it drew a lot of attention to Manawanui that perhaps they didn't want to have drawn to it. It drew a lot of attention to the fact that there could be other actors involved other than New Zealand and Samoa."
The wreck of Manawanui remains on the Tafitoala Reef and Samoa's Marine Pollution Advisory Committee was expecting a wreck report in the coming month. Professor Myburgh said even with the removal of "immediate dangers for example from fuel" the wreck continued to impact the environment.
"And what is particularly concerning here is that the local villages are totally dependent on that area for their food, for their livelihoods so I think that in that context that payment of that amount should be seen as being very much on the lower end of the scale," he said.
The British High Commission and the UK's Foreign Office were approached for comment.
