Manawanui fuel leak ‘not significant’

The NZDF’s priorities are planning to see what can be done to plug the residual diesel engine room leak and planning for the safe disposal of the containers on the reef.

Defense force teams are carrying out daily beach surveys with local Samoan authorities and say no evidence of pollution or impact of a fuel spill on the coast has been found. The RNZAF has deployed drones to help with coastal surveys and has detected no evidence of contamination.

Navy divers have accessed one of the three containers housed on the reef, removing the device from the container. The other two containers carry food and waste.

Deputy Chief of Navy Commodore Andrew Brown told RNZ 200,000 liters of fuel had leaked from the ship in the week it hit the reef, caught fire and sank.

“The advice from our experts and our specialist is that very small amounts come to the surface and start a natural evaporation process, and also the general waves and tides dissipate that,” Brown said.

“That fuel and oil that’s coming from the ship is very low in quantity, and obviously we’re also continuing to monitor where that fuel goes — we’re monitoring the beaches, the environment, the wildlife.”

There was no evidence that the fuel that leaked came from the main tanks of HMNZS Manawanui, but removing the tanks from the ship was a top priority, Brown said.

While the navy was not giving up hope of removing the sunken ship from the reef, recovery would not be a quick process and New Zealand was committed to fixing things, he said.

“We are committed to working with the Government of Samoa and will continue to work from the ground and from New Zealand to support the overall operation and removal of Manawanui.”

A hotline has been set up in Samoa for the public to use when they find items from ships washed ashore or at sea.

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