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WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

A major oil spill from a 700-ton cargo ship in the Solomon Islands is threatening the environment and biodiversity of the region. The Island is environmentally sensitive and culturally important geography which is home to a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site. The East Rennell Island which is the largest raised coral atoll in the world, according to UNESCO.

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SOLOMON ISLANDS?

The Solomon Islands is a sovereign state consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania lying to the east of Papua New Guinea.
The country takes its name from the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that also includes the North Solomon Islands (part of Papua New Guinea), but excludes outlying islands, such as Rennell and Bellona, and the Santa Cruz Islands.

HOW THE RECENT ACCIDENT IMPACTS THE REGION?

A bulk carrier with 700 tons of oil meet with Cyclone Oma and spilt the oil in a part of Solomon Island.
The ship was carrying bauxite meant for producing aluminium when it met with the accident on Solomon Islands’ Rennell Island, gradually coughing out oil into the waters. IMPACT •Environmentalists fear whether the spill would endanger the coral atoll, the calamity has also affected human activity in the region.
The spill from the ship is now threatening life, work and environment of the island.

CONCERNS

In regard to the recent accident the oil carrier has a Hong Kong registration and is owned by an Indonesian mining company.
Bintan Solomon Islands, the mining company that owned the oil, says it is not supposed to bear any responsibility for the spill.
In this case, international agencies and even governments that volunteered to help clean up the mess said they were disappointed by the response from those directly responsible for the spill.
Earlier experiences with the world’s worst oil spills, also show that those who were directly responsible have managed to dilute their responsibilities.

HOW DOES OIL IMPACT MARINE LIFE?

For example if we look at The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill/leak, the BP oil disaster 650 dolphins had been found stranded in the oil spill area Oil spill has likely harmed or killed approximately 82,000 birds of 102 species, approximately 6,165 sea turtles

BACK TO SOLOMON ISLANDS OIL SPILL

In a statement, Australia’s foreign office added: “There is a high risk remaining heavy fuel oil on the vessel, currently estimated at over 600 tonnes, will be released into the surrounding area,” the foreign affairs department said. “Australia is supporting the Solomon Islands government to hold the responsible commercial entities to account.” The clean up operation is likely to take several months.

WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD?

- Environmentalists and legal experts want a global watchdog to deal with spills.
- There are also demands for a contingency fund to compensate the victims and help in clean-up missions.
- Strict guidelines to shipping companies to share (with their clients) the blame and swift international legal processes irrespective of the geography of the accidents need to be formulated.
- Oil companies and their logistics partners must understand the world cannot afford oils leaks whose impacts on precious marine life and other organisms are very difficult to be ascertained.