A Samoan man wants an apology from the New Zealand Government for the damage he says has been inflicted on the environment in the area where the HMNZS Manawanui sank.
In a Facebook video, Jay Ah Schuster says the area of the wreck smells of diesel, while a few containers are stuck on the reef where the ship went down last Saturday.
Schuster said the marine life of the area was usually very healthy, however, locals are now concerned about the reef, coral and marine life.
He added that neighbouring villages have reported seeing an intensive oil spill coming from the wreck. This has not been confirmed.
Schuster said the information coming from the New Zealand Government has been lacking. “No one has told us anything, no one has told our neighbouring villages anything of what is happening, and what to do.”
Schuster wants an apology from the New Zealand Government for the sinking, saying it would “go a long way”.
“I know we get a lot of assistance from New Zealand and that, but that doesn’t mean you can’t say sorry for killing our corals, killing our fish, endangering our marine life. There should be an apology there somewhere.”
“Giving us assistance doesn’t give you the right to do whatever you want to damage our shores,” he said.
Schuster shared frustrations about the salvage and clean up operation.
“It has been three to four days and there is no clean up crew. A salvage team is no good as the damage is done. Why are you checking it out? Our oceans are getting polluted.”
“By the time they get here the damage is done. Everything has drifted down and affected a lot of areas, when you could have tried to contain it. We are not waiting for four days, you might as well just turn around and go back.”
The HMNZS Manawanui caught fire and sank after getting stuck on a reef, forcing the 75 crew and passengers to abandon ship.
The ship was carrying nearly 1000 tonnes of oil, however, the NZDF have said it is not leaking oil despite locals saying it has been.
- Stuff