WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — An oil spill is “highly probable” from a grounded New Zealand navy ship which sank and caught fire off the coast of Samoa, the Pacific island nation's acting prime minister said late Sunday. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — An oil spill is “highly probable” from a grounded New Zealand navy ship which sank and caught fire off the coast of Samoa, the Pacific island nation's acting prime minister said late Sunday. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — An oil spill is “highly probable” from a grounded New Zealand navy ship which sank and caught fire off the coast of Samoa, the Pacific island nation’s acting prime minister said late Sunday.
Officials in Samoa are conducting an environmental impact assessment in the area where the ship sank on Sunday morning, acting Prime Minister Tuala Tevaga Iosefo Ponifasio said in a statement. All 75 people on board the HMNZS Manawanui were taken to safety on life rafts in “challenging conditions” and darkness, New Zealand’s Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding told reporters. The vessel was about a mile from shore when it grounded on a reef and began taking on water, but it took the first survivors five hours to reach land, he said.
New Zealand will hold a court of inquiry into the loss of the ship, which was one of nine in its navy. Th.