Hong Kong owner of cargo ship apologises to Solomon Islands for ‘totally unacceptable’ oil spill in World Heritage-listed waters

Seventy five tonnes of oil has leaked so far on the doorstep of a World Heritage Site on Rennell Island. There’s 600 tonnes still on board the vessel.

The MV Solomon Trader had been loading bauxite from a mine on the island in the days before Cyclone Oma pushed it aground on a coral reef, in the early hours of February 5.

“The insurer and owner of the grounded MV Solomon Trader have offered a sincere apology to the people of the Solomon Islands following the bauxite carrier’s grounding on a sensitive reef near Rennell Island,” said Hong Kong owner King Trader and insurer Korea Protection and Indemnity Club in a statement.

The companies said that although matters of liability are yet to be determined, they “expressed deep remorse” and characterised the situation as “totally unacceptable”.