Samoa warns of ‘highly probable’ fuel spill after New Zealand navy ship caught fire and sank

Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Samoa’s acting prime minister says a fuel spill is “highly probable” after a New Zealand navy ship grounded, caught fire and sank off the coast of the Pacific island nation. All 75 people on board the HMNZS Manawanui were taken to safety on life boats. The ship, one of only nine in New Zealand’s navy, was the first the country has lost at sea since World War II. New Zealand will hold a court of inquiry into the loss of the ship and officials in Samoa are undertaking an environmental impact assessment, the acting prime minister said late Sunday in a statement. The cause of the accident is not known.