Rennell oil spill an inevitable outcome of broken system, says academic
1 April 2019
An Australian academic and environmental management expert says the oil spill in Rennell was not just an accident but an inevitable outcome of a broken system.
...Questions of liability, inadequate legislation and corporate responsibility have been pored over again and again with the maritime incident being described by the country's prime minister as the worst man-made environmental disaster in recent times.
University of Queensland senior research fellow Simon...said..."If we all reflect on this it is more than just a foreign mining company causing environmental damage. I think we all need to reflect on the various stakeholders whether that is the role of the community, the role of the government, the role of outsiders like myself and the role of international partners in creating the environment and the framework to allow this accident to happen."
In the latest twist of events the Indonesian miner Bintan Mining Corporation, which chartered the stricken MV Solomon Trader, is suing the ship's owner King Trader Ltd.
A spokesperson for the miner...they were suing the shipping company as the charterer and on behalf of the people of Rennell Bellona.
"We will stand for the rights of the rights of the people of Rennell Bellona to hold the ship owner viable for the incident", the spokesperson said.