Safata Villagers Call For 'Fair Treatment' And Compensation After Manawanui Disaster

Wednesday, 16 October 2024, 6:14 pm
Article: RNZ

Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai, RNZ Pacific Journalist

Safata district villagers in Samoa, where the Navy vessel HMNZ Manawanui sank, will meet with Samoan officials on Friday to push for compensation.

Tafitoala, one of the villages in Safata, has already spoken about their livelihood being affected by the Manawanui disaster on 5 October.

A meeting is scheduled to take place this Friday in Vaiee, another coastal village in the district, to present their case to the Samoan government and suggest that New Zealand should be responsible for compensating them.

Tuia Pu'a Leota, a former Samoan MP, said the impact of the shipwreck at Tafitoala affects everyone, including the neighbouring district of Si'umu, where King Charles will be staying during his visit for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) next week.

Tuia told RNZ Pacific that Defence Minister Judith Collins' statement that the oil leaks from the vessel "are very small amounts" was "unkind and careless".

"This is not a trickle; this is a disaster," Tuia said.

"We feel very little by this statement. It is a war boat that has sunk in our ocean, where there are surely some unwanted chemicals.

"We are advocating for fair treatment and urging both [Samoa and New Zealand] governments to address this issue promptly. We really want to see fair compensation for this."

Tuia said Safata's economy heavily relies on the ocean, where people sell fish for a living in the village, along the raodsides, and also at the markets.

When asked by RNZ Pacific how Safata is affected, Tuia said the wind blows from the south towards the northwest of the island.

"It's like a rounding tight, especially in Saanapu and Sataoa (two other villages in the Safata District) where the wind blows all the rubbish, as well as the smell and leakage of diesel, towards the shore. The district of Si'umu is [also] totally affected," he said.

According to Tuia, the Palolo reef worms are like gold for the Safata district.

"We won't be [catching Palolo] this time because we've stopped the villages from fishing," he said.

A family in the village of Siumu, who owns a fishing vessel and wishes to remain anonymous, said that they are being forced to travel almost half an hour away to Falealili village to catch fish.

"There are huge costs that we now have to face because we have to pay for the cost of petrol to go out to another village to fish, sometimes we are not fortunate to catch fish that day, which means we have wasted money.

"There are about ten other fishing vessels in Si'umu. Many of us who own fishing vessels help other families within the villages by sharing the fish we have caught. Some vessels help provide fish for businesses in town.

"It is a sad time for this disaster to has happened, our district was affected by the tsunami marking 15 years this year which was huge.

"But I would say for this [Manawanui] disaster although it is not as impactful as the tsunami, I feel like the scar will be coming to us silently because it is going to take a very long time to clean up," the Si'umu villager said.

It is estimated that about 200,000 litres of diesel have leaked from the shipwreck.

The NZ Defence Force shared underwater footage of Manawanui on Saturday, saying the main fuel tanks accessible for assessment were intact and there was no evidence of any leaks from them.

"The reality is that officials cannot definitively state how much fuel has leaked at this time but do consider, based on a week's worth of evidence, that it is less than what was first assessed."

No evidence of pollution - NZDF

In its latest update on Wednesday afternoon, the NZDF said it had emptied one of the three containers on the ship, while one was already empty.

"The NZDF continues to conduct daily beach surveys together with local authorities and have not found any evidence of pollution or fuel affecting the shoreline."

HMNZS Canterbury is expected to arrive in Apia harbour on Wednesday to support the Samoan govvernment's hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The ship is also transporting equipment that can assist NZDF's response.

RNZ Pacific contacted the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), which is dedicated to promoting cooperation in the South Pacific region and providing assistance to protect and enhance its environment, for comment.

"SPREP Samoa is providing technical advisory support to the Government of Samoa through MWTI's (Ministry of Works, Transport and Infrastructure) Marine Pollution Advisory committee (MPAC) where all media queries are being directed and handled," SPREP said in a statement.

Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mataafa told RNZ Pacific on Tuesday that compensation talks would only take place once the environment impacts become clearer.

"It's going to take a little while before they can determine exactly what happens to the ship itself," she said.

© Scoop Media

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