Major Companies Should Take Full Responsibility in Cleaning Up Oil Spills Caused by their Vessels

Oil spilling out of the Solomon Trader in the Solomon Islands

Last month, a cargo ship from Hong Kong called the Solomon Trader got stuck during a cyclone in the Solomon Islands when it was trying to load bauxite. The incident occurred off the coast of Rennell Island near a UNESCO World Heritage Site known as East Rennell during which the island's reef tore into the vessel's side resulting in some 80 tons of heavy fuel oil being poured into the sea and onto the shoreline. Aerial footage by the Australian government showed the spill advancing roughly 3.5 miles across the island's shore and moving closer to the World Heritage Site. Ever since the disaster took place, there has been an increasing anger that the companies responsible for the spill have not stepped in to stop the pollution. The government of the Solomon Islands originally requested Australia to give technical advice, but due to the escalation of the disaster, Australia is setting up teams in an attempt to scale down the effects of the destruction. Australia indicated that the islands' government made it clear that the companies which caused the spill, King Trader Ltd. and its insurer Korea P&I Club, have the responsibility of rescuing the ship and cleaning up the damage. Local and maritime publications say that the ship was authorized at the time by a company called Bintan Mining. The New York Times reported that Korea P&I Club "expressed 'deep remorse' on behalf of itself and the vessel's owner, King Trader, though it said that 'matters of liability are yet to be determined.' "

View of East Rennell

It really frustrates me that when there is an environmental disaster involving a ship or any other vessel, the companies that own that vessel(s) do not take action. This was especially seen in the case of the Solomon Trader, which has been leaking oil into the sea off the coast of Rennell Island since February 5 2019. The spilled oil is advancing little by little towards East Rennell, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the companies which own the ship did not take any immediate action to prevent any damage. I strongly urge all the major companies that own various cargo ships to take the initiative of salvaging their vessels whenever there is an oil spill anywhere in the world. It is the sole responsibility of the companies to clean up the mess they have caused whenever their vessels are involved in a maritime disaster that is damaging to the marine environment. Such disasters not only threaten the marine life but can also severely impact the livelihood of local populations that strongly depend on the waters for survival. For example, East Rennell is home to 1,200 native people who primarily live by hunting, fishing, and subsistence gardening. Many of them were interviewed in which they complained about the awful smell from the oil making breathing difficult. If the oil continues to expand, it will kill the fish and other marine animals which these people rely on for food. This is why I firmly believe that major companies, their owners and insurers, should take full responsibility in tackling maritime disasters such as oil spills involving their vessels.

View article here