The companies allegedly responsible for the one of the worst environmental disasters in Solomon Islands’ history are being sued over the catastrophic oil spill that caused harm to an ecologically sensitive island.
The claim over the 2019 Rennell Island disaster was filed in the Solomons high court last week, just days before the statute of limitations expired.
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 ship had been loading bauxite from a nearby mine when a cyclone pushed it aground on the reef, in Kangava Bay.
“Our way of life changed on the day that ship wrecked on our reef,” Tony Kagovai, local chief of Lughu Ward in Kangava Bay, and one of the complainants in the case, said.
“For six years we have not known whether the fish we are eating are safe to eat or whether our lands and waters are free of poison. Our community deserves justice for everything we have suffered.”
The people of Rennell Island have never received any compensation.
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 communities.
Following the spill, Rennell Islanders said freshwater sources on the island were left undrinkable. In nearby Avatai village, it was reported every chicken died a week after the spill and children suffered skin and eye infections.
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.
Korea P&I said it had not yet been served with any legal action in relation to Rennell. MS Amlin said it could not comment on an ongoing legal matter. Other companies were either uncontactable or did not reply.
William Kadi, from Primo Afeau Legal Services, said the communities of Rennell Island had had their traditional lands and waterways “irreversibly damaged” by the disaster.
“Today we start the process of helping the community heal by seeking justice and accountability for the mess left behind,” he said last week.
Harj Narulla, from London’s Doughty Street Chambers, which is acting for the claimants, said the island’s landowners lived daily with the impacts of the oil spill.
“This case is one of the worst environmental disasters in Pacific history. The customary landowners and Solomon Islands government are owed millions of dollars in compensation for the catastrophic harm they have suffered from the Rennell Island oil spill.
“By filing [this] landmark case we will ensure that justice delayed is not justice denied.”
