The Spill:
Four weeks ago, the “Hong-Long flagged bulk carrier MV Solomon Trader, carrying 700 tonnes of oil, ran aground on Kongobainu reef after becoming loosed from its mooring,” causing the worst oil spill in history of the Solomon Islands….
“The coastal villages of Matanga, Vangu, Lavangu and Kangava have been the hardest hit by the oil spill. Paul Neil, who lives in Lavangu village, told the Guardian that children had been told not to swim in the sea and that fishing had been banned for the foreseeable future. With no way to find their own food, the villagers were now depending on deliveries from the capital Honiara, 150 miles away. Neil said the slick had changed the local way of life.” – from the Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/06/solomon-islanders-suffer-worst-oil-spill-nations-history-bulk-carrier-bauxite)
The Apology:
“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,” insurer Korea Protection and Indemnity Club and Hong Kong owner King Trader Ltd said 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” – From the Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/06/ship-owner-apologises-for-totally-unacceptable-oil-spill-in-solomon-islands)
A horrible oil spill. A heartfelt apology by those responsible. All is right in the cosmos. What does this remind you of?
