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Harj Narulla files claim in major Pacific oil spill case on behalf of Solomon Islands Government and indigenous community

Harj Narulla is representing the Solomon Islands Government and the indigenous landowners of Rennell Island in Solomon Islands in a multimillion-dollar claim against foreign corporations over responsibility for a major oil spill in 2019.

Widely regarded as the worst environmental disaster in Solomon Islands history, the cargo vessel MV Solomon Trader grounded on a reef at Kangava Bay on Rennell Island and subsequently leaked over 300 tonnes of oil, causing catastrophic environmental damage.

Rennell Island is the largest raised coral atoll in the world, rich in biodiversity and ecologically sensitive. The island is home to a UNESCO World Heritage listed site, Lake Tegano, which is the largest freshwater lake in the Pacific. 

Harj’s clients are the customary landowners of Kangava Bay, Lughu Ward, represented by tribal and community elders Mr Tony Kagovai, Mr Anthony Tamaika, Mr Derek Pongi, and Mr James Tipaka. Harj is also representing the Solomon Islands Government, which has joined the claim to seek compensation for remediation costs and economic and environmental loss associated with the spill. 

Multimillion dollar clean-up and salvage operations in the wake of the spill were jointly handled by Solomon Islands, the Australian Government, and the New Zealand Government.

The defendants are foreign companies including the owners of the MV Solomon Trader and the operators of a bauxite mine on Rennell Island. Two insurance companies, Dutch-headquartered MS Amlin Marine NV and Korea P&I Club, a South Korean Government associated entity, are alleged to owe well in excess of $38 million USD in damages to the claimants. 

For the indigenous landowners, Harj is instructed by Dirk Heinz, William Kadi and John Ridgway of the Pacific Legal Network. For the Government, Harj is instructed by the Attorney General John Muria Jnr and Stephen Webb, Gitanjali Bajaj, and Saoirse O’Dea of DLA Piper

Harj is led by Frank Clarke SC, the former Chief Justice of the Irish Supreme Court. 

The case and spill has been covered by The New York Times, The Guardian, the ABC, The Sydney Morning Herald  and Fox News