New Zealand’s Navy lost its first ship since World War II after the HMNZS Manawanui sank on a reef off the coast of Samoa on Sunday creating a potential environmental disaster in waters used for fishing and tourism.

An oil spill from a grounded New Zealand navy ship which sank and caught fire off the coast of Samoa is “highly probable”, Samoa’s acting Prime Minister said late Sunday

A Royal New Zealand Navy vessel ran aground and sank off Samoa but all 75 crew and passengers on board were safe, the New Zealand Defence Force said in a statement on Sunday. Manawanui, the navy's specialist dive and hydrographic vessel,