Following weeks of delays, an international salvage crew has now contained an oil spill originating from the MV Solomon Trader in the Solomon Islands but a massive clean-up operation is still underway making the incident one of the worst environmental disasters in the region.
The MV Solomon Trader had been loading bauxite from Rennell Island when it ran aground on a coral reef during tropical cyclone Oma. The ship has reportedly continued to leak oil (as much as 75-80 tonnes) and contaminate pristine reef areas.
The accident was dubbed an environmental disaster, three weeks after the 1994-built vessel dragged anchor and grounded on a reef off Rennell Island, near the largest raised coral atoll in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
“Australia is concerned about the unfolding environmental disaster caused by the MV Solomon Trader oil spill on Rennell Island. We are exploring all options to assist the Solomon Islands Government to hold the responsible company, owners and insurers to account,” Roderick Brazier, High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, informed via social media.
The Solomon Islands Government have now raised questions of liability, inadequate legislation and corporate responsibility. The Solomon Island’s Prime Minister has described the event as ‘the worst man-made environmental disaster in recent times.’
University of Queensland senior research fellow Simon Albert has spent the last 15 years trying to help both the Solomon Islands government and local communities with environmental management and protection.
Dr Albert said as tragic as the Rennell disaster is for local communities it is also an important opportunity for the country to take stock.
“If we all reflect on this it is more than just a foreign mining company causing environmental damage. I think we all need to reflect on the various stakeholders whether that is the role of the community, the role of the government, the role of outsiders like myself and the role of international partners in creating the environment and the framework to allow this accident to happen.”
In the latest twist of events the Indonesian miner Bintan Mining Corporation, which chartered the stricken MV Solomon Trader, is suing the ship’s owner King Trader Ltd.
A spokesperson for the miner told the Island Sun they were suing the shipping company as the charterer and on behalf of the people of Rennell Bellona.
“We will stand for the rights of the rights of the people of Rennell Bellona to hold the shipowner liable for the incident”, the spokesperson said.
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