· A considerable milestone in the Operation Resolution response to the grounding and sinking of HMNZS Manawanui is being reached with fuel recovery now underway.

· Senior National Representative for Operation Resolution, Commodore Andrew Brown, said the weather had been kind and it was all go on the barge.

· “I can report the salvors’ divers have begun the process of extracting fuel and other pollutants from the ship and transferring it into tank-tainers on the barge. As always, progress is dependent on favourable sea and weather conditions which the salvors monitor daily,” Commodore Brown said.

· “There is a large quality of automotive gas oil and other pollutants held on board in various locations throughout the ship and we are expecting removal to take a number of weeks,” he said.

· “The Samoan community will see the barge periodically return to the Port of Apia to offload the contents of the tank-tainers before the barge returns to its mooring over the Manawanui to resume fuel removal,” Commodore Brown said.

· The intention was for the fuel and other pollutants to be stored in Apia while the New ZealandGovernment worked through processes for disposal.

· “This stage of the fuel removal process is complex and technical and it is extremely important we do a careful and thorough job. While the salvors’ fuel recovery work is progressing, our NZDF staff continue to support sea water sample collection and monitoring above and around the Manawanui,” Commodore Brownsaid.

· He said the Samoan Government continued to manage the overall response and the salvors and the New Zealand Defence Force were working very closely with them.

· “We acknowledge the concerns around this incident and appreciate the importance of the marine and coastal environments to the people of Samoa, and our focus continues to be on minimising any possible environmental impacts and supporting the response. These remain our absolute priorities and the commencement of the removal of fuel and other pollutants from the ship is a major milestone in this process,” he said.

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