Siumu, Samoa – Under clear skies on Tuesday, shortly after sunrise in the coastal fishing village of Siumu, Samoa, a dozen men and children prepared their small boats for a day at sea. But underwater, a mile off the coast, a sunken New Zealand navy ship forces them to travel longer distances to fish than before, leaving many area residents worried about the future.
The village, decorated with Samoan and British flags, is bustling with preparations to welcome King Charles III and Queen Camilla when the royals arrive on Wednesday for the biennial meeting of leaders from 56 Commonwealth nations. This is the first time a Pacific island nation has hosted the event.
But Siumu was already taken. New Zealand and Samoan officials have been working for weeks along miles of nearby coastline to monitor and address environmental damage caused by the sinking of HMNZS Manawanui, which ran aground on a reef, caught fire and sank earlier this month.
75 people on board the specialist diving and hydrographic vessel – one of nine New Zealand Navy ships – have been safely evacuated.
Early fears of a catastrophic fuel leak were later allayed by officials who stated that no oil had leaked from the ship during the sinking. However, many residents of Siumu and surrounding villages worry that damage to the reef caused by the wreck threatens their long-term survival.
“I don’t know when it will be good again and (return to) normality,” said Netina Malae, who has temporarily closed her small center in nearby Tafitoala. The colorful waves, the huts along the beach, are empty.
Repair efforts on the reef focused on removing three large containers left behind after the sinking, one of which was filled with food. New Zealand’s military had hoped to refloat the last empty and damaged boat on Tuesday, although wind and tides hampered their efforts.
Meanwhile, fishermen who once spent days where the boat sank face longer and more expensive trips, they told The Associated Press.
“We doubled the amount of gasoline so we could go far in search of fish,” Faalogo Afereti Taliulu said, citing advice from the Samoan government that seafood should not be eaten from near the sunken ship. “That’s why we’re concerned. It impacts us financially.”
Taliulu and others from a village on Upolu, Samoa’s largest island, mainly fish for tuna. This is their biggest industry and family affair.
His cousin, Taula Fagatuai, said currents and tides meant fishermen were unsure whether seafood they caught outside the exclusion area was safe to eat. It is not yet clear what is happening to the delicate marine ecosystem around the ship, its anchor chain and shipping containers.
“This boat will destroy our reef,” Fagatuai said.
Some in Siumu and surrounding villages are calling on the New Zealand government to pay compensation for lost wages, but a quick solution is unlikely. The cause of the ship’s sinking is unknown, therefore a court of inquiry was established to investigate the situation.
Another controversial issue is the amount of fuel leaking from the ship. New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins said last week that the ship’s residual “trickle” of diesel fuel was quickly evaporating from the ocean surface. She said the amount of fuel that spilled into the ocean was less than reported by Samoan officials, and most of the cargo the ship was carrying was burned in the fire.
Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa assured reporters last week that there was “no evidence of any leakage” from the ship’s main tanks.
But it is unclear how much diesel fuel flowed from the sunken ship, Commander Andrew Brown, the New Zealand Army’s senior national representative in Samoa, told the AP on Tuesday. He added that the priority is to recover the remaining fuel from the sunken ship.
There are no plans yet to raise the ship from its resting place.
Officials are monitoring the shoreline, the sheen of diesel fuel on the water’s surface and its movement in currents, Brown said.
Officials from both countries said there was no visible damage to Samoa’s beaches or wildlife. But some residents of nearby villages who claim to have seen oil in the water covering people or fish are not reassured.
“My kids went to a place where they surf. And when they came back, they said there was oil everywhere,” Malae said. “And then I touched their bodies – slick with oil. So I’m sure the oil was there.”
The disaster occurred as Samoa was preparing to welcome the British royal family – who will be staying at a resort near the fishing village of Siumu – and other world leaders for a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government. Meetings of civil society leaders have already started and the official opening ceremony is scheduled for Friday.
However, uncertainty over the sunken ship is hurting tourism during the event. Malae usually takes guests out to sea on fishing, surfing or turtle-watching trips. Now, she said, “it’s all over.”
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Graham-McLay reported from Wellington, New Zealand.
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