The Solomon Islands government has slammed the companies at the heart of the Rennell Island oil spill disaster.
MV Solomon Trader oil spill on Rennell Island, Solomon Islands. Photo: The Australian High Commission Solomon Islands
The Solomon Trader ran aground in Kangava Bay a month ago and has spilled about 100 tonnes of oil into a world heritage marine area.
Caretaker prime minister Rick Hou said mining companies APID and BinTan Mining Solomon Islands, shipping operators Kind Trader and PMC Marine along with their insurers were responsible for removing the oil and repairing the damage.
MV Solomon Trader oil spill on Rennell Island, Solomon Islands. Photo: The Australian High Commission Solomon Islands
He said to date the companies had listed the damage as a low priority.
But the government was prepared to put them on an international blacklist "if they do not take their responsibilities in accordance with internationally accepted practice", Mr Hou said.
The prime minister also said he wanted to look again at the contract that allowed APID a mining license because he was concerned adequate checks were not carried out on a company he claimed was not actually a mining operator.
An Australian Maritime Safety Authority team has been on Rennell since Wednesday and is working to contain the spill, Mr Hou said.
A salvage company is also on site and the government was confident no more oil was leaking from the ship, he said.
Meanwhile, the government is pushing for all mining on the island to be stopped to allow the salvage and clean up to happen as quickly as possible.
Miners and the island's chiefs, however, want mining to continue, Mr Hou said.
The government had earned very little from more than 64 shipments of bauxite from Rennell and was of the view that "exporting our resources for virtually no economic return is immoral and unacceptable", he said.