Oil spilling from ship stuck on Pacific reef: locals

Oil has started leaking from a bulk carrier stranded on a coral reef near World Heritage-listed waters in the Solomon Islands, local villagers said Wednesday.

The MV Solomon Trader ran aground on February 5 while loading bauxite at Rennell Island but heavy seas whipped up by Tropical Cyclone Oma have thwarted salvage attempts.

Locals said the 225-metre vessel was now starting to leak oil.

"We're starting to see a slick," Derek Pongi told AFP. "It's not that big but it's hard to tell because the weather's still rough."
"The people here depend on the sea for all their needs," he said. "It would make life very hard for them."