Safata villages want a say as Manawanui wreck talks roll on

Communities along Sāmoa’s Safata coast say they are still waiting to be heard.

Months after the Royal New Zealand Navy ship, HMNZS Manawanui, sank offshore, villagers want a direct role in decisions about what happens next and how it could affect their future.

“We are not sitting at the table,” Safata II MP Tuia Logoiai Pu’a Leota told PMN News. “I think we have to get involved if there are such discussions going on like that.”

The vessel ran aground on 5 October 2024 during a hydrographic survey and sank the next day, with 75 people on board. No lives were lost, but the impact is still being felt.

A Court of Inquiry found the grounding was caused by a series of human errors, including gaps in training, planning, and supervision, as well as time pressure during the operation.

In March 2026, three naval officers were charged, with court-martial proceedings pending.

While some residents are focused on receiving the payments, Tuia said the longer-term effects on the districts must not be ignored. Pictured is environmental damage recorded at Tafitoala on 7 October 2024. Photo/Sāmoa Conservation Society

For Safata communities, the issue is no longer just about how the ship sank but what it means for their land, sea, and way of life.

Tuia said residents remain concerned about how decisions over the wreck are being made.

While his interaction with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at a state dinner on Monday was informal, Tuia says it does not end efforts to address the wreck and its future impact.

PM Christopher Luxon and Safata II MP Tuia Logoiai Pu’a Leota pictured at a state dinner in Sāmoa. Photo/Supplied

“We would like to talk to other organisations, other countries, to help us conduct a special study in the district, a second opinion,” he said. “The problem is that we don’t have the money to conduct these studies ourselves.”

Luxon visited Sāmoa as part of his Pacific tour, where he was bestowed a chiefly matai title in Apia on Monday.

The Manawanui incident has already prompted a NZ$6 million (ST$10m) payment from New Zealand.

Luxon said the payment was a complete settlement. “We negotiated in good faith… and paid full and final settlement,” he said during a media engagement in Apia on Monday.

Luxon confirmed that the focus is now on the wreck’s future. An independent shipwreck assessment has been provided to the Sāmoan government.

“The decision sits with the Sāmoan government… we stand ready to help in any way we can,” the Prime Minister said.

He added that while he had not read the report, he had a “sense” of its options.

Sāmoa’s Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Schmidt said discussions with affected villages are ongoing.

“The continuation of the negotiation is still on, and we need to have time, better time with New Zealand to consider what is good for us here and protective, and also preserve what’s going to be affected in the future,” he said.

“That’s where the discussion should be - be fair to New Zealand and also be fair to us in the long run.”

The Sāmoan leader said compensation is being redirected to communities rather than retained by the government.

But for Tuia and Safata residents, concerns go beyond immediate compensation, including cultural and spiritual ties to the waters.

“When these things happen, it can change people’s lives, especially our environment, the freedom to enjoy our shores, the spirit, the culture,” he said. “It’s really affected.”

While some residents are focused on receiving the payments, Tuia said the longer-term effects on the districts must not be ignored.

“My concern is people being affected, or other problems developing. Maybe they care, but they don’t show it. I’m trying to push and talk about the effects on the future of our district.”

As discussions continue between Sāmoa and New Zealand over the wreck, communities along the Safata coast are watching closely and asking for something simple: A seat at the table.

From Sāmoa, Luxon and his delegation moved on to Tonga, the next stop of his Pacific tour. The Prime Minister returns home on Wednesday.