8 March 2019

The Solomon Islands' caretaker prime minister is defending his government's reaction to an unfolding environmental disaster, pinning the blame on the companies involved.

...Mr Hou said the ship's owner, Hong Kong-based King Trading, its South Korean insurer and the operator of the bauxite mine, Bintan and APID, are responsible.

He said he was infuriated by the low priority the companies had given the disaster.

"APID and BMSI are fully and vicariously liable because without mining and the charter arrangements which both are responsible for, the ship would never have been in Rennell. The government is concerned that the overall response by the ship's owners and insurers, has been very slow."

"...The government cannot and will not accept any claims by the company that this accident was outside their control. The company and the ship are also very aware of the cyclone season. They would have heard the weather warnings that went out. We cannot accept this was unforeseen. Rather, we see this was as constituting a very careless action by the ship's crew."

He says the government will look at the future of the operations.

"The decision on the company mining lease and development consent will be done when all assessments I have instructed have been completed. We have laws in this country and regardless of the inadequacies in some areas they still form the basis upon which decisions relating to the mining lease and development consent must be addressed."