by Ednal Palmer
A USD$ 35 million environmental compensation claim against the owner of the Hong Kong bulk carrier that spilled oil on Rennell Island is sitting at the High Court.
Attorney General John Muria Junior, told parliament today, when grilled by Opposition Leader Mathew Wale on the 2019 oil-spill saga, that several compensation claims were furnished, but nothing was forthcoming, which resulted in the filing of the claims in the high court.
When questioning the Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management, and Meteorology (MECDM) about the 2019 oil spill, the Opposition leader said the matter has taken too long and should have already been addressed.
The Attorney General said one of the major delays was because Solomon Islands was not party to the Bunker Convention.
“As a result, processes had to be put in place for us to sign up.”
The International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage (Bunkers Convention), which the Solomon Islands recently acceded to, aims to ensure prompt and adequate compensation for pollution damage caused by spills of oil used as fuel in ships. This convention applies to damage on the territory of state parties, including their territorial seas and exclusive economic zones.
The MECDM Minister, Trevor Mahaga said any claims also need backing from findings of environmental damage assessments.
He said his Ministry is yet to receive the full environmental damages assessment phase 2 report, which should assist the Ministry in the ongoing legal proceedings of the compensation claims.
In February 2019, MV Solomon Trader ran aground on a coral reef in the east of Rennell Island, spilling more than 300 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, damaging the reef, a nearby lagoon, and contaminating water supplies.
The spill was one of the most severe environmental disasters in the country’s history.
The ship had been loading bauxite from a nearby mine when a cyclone pushed it aground on the reef in Kangava Bay.
The governments of Australia and New Zealand collaborated with the Solomon Islands government for a 15-week clean-up operation thereafter.
East Rennell is a site of environmental and historical value. It was placed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1998 and is one of the largest raised coral atolls in the world. The oil spill occurred just outside the world heritage area, but devastated the lives of local people who are still waiting for compensation.
An independent report into the disaster found spilled oil polluted water and damaged the reef up to three kilometres from the grounded vessel. The report said the site could take up to 130 years to recover.
In the aftermath, the bulk carrier’s Hong Kong owner, King Trader Ltd, and the vessel’s South Korean insurer, issued a “sincere apology” over the disaster, but stopped short of accepting liability.
The companies said that although matters of liability were yet to be determined, they “expressed deep remorse” at the “totally unacceptable” situation.
The customary landowners of Rennell Island, directly affected by the spill, along with the government of Solomon Islands, are co-claimants pursuing a group of international companies for environmental and other damages.
The claim identifies five companies as liable for the damage caused by the spill: Hong Kong-based King Trader Ltd, which owned the stricken vessel; the protection and indemnity insurer Korea P&I, a state-owned South Korean company; miner Bintan Mining Corporation and its subsidiary Bintan Mining (SI) Ltd; and MS Amlin Marine MV, a Dutch provider of charterer’s liability.