It was a brave effort by the Samoa Police and the Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority as they helped bring the 75 personnel on board the HMNZS Manawanui to safety.

The ship ran aground off the coast of Siumu on Saturday night and this disaster has been covered by the media the world over. The cause of the accident is yet to be determined. The ship ran aground, then caught fire and eventually sank into the abyss.

Fortunately, no lives have been lost. This incident also showed the readiness and the ability of the nation’s maritime rescue services. The incident took place just two weeks before the start of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

According to the coastal villages two kilometres away from the reef where the naval ship ran aground, they can smell the diesel from the ship. This indicates that the fuel from the ship is leaking posing an environmental threat. The area where the ship sank is a conservation site.

This is science. Oil is lighter than water. It floats over water because its density is lower than that of water. If the fuel tank of the naval ship has been compromised, the diesel will rise to the surface and form oil slicks.

The villages of Siumu and Sa’anapu are now facing the daunting possibility of oil coming in with the tide to their shores. The Sinalei Resort which will be the abode for the British monarch could also be looking at this possibility.

Our dear friends, the New Zealand government has to act fast to avert an ecological disaster. The grounding of the ship was not done on purpose and New Zealand has already suffered a loss of more than NZ$100 million by losing the ship.

The New Zealand government has to work with ours and ensure the cleanup of the fuel before it damages the reefs and the marine life it supports. The coastal communities of Siumu and Sa’anapu are also dependent on the sea for food sources. Action must be swift.

A spill from the shipwreck could have devastating effects on the nation’s economy as we rely heavily on tourism and fisheries. Oil released from wrecks can damage coral reefs, wipe out marine life, and clog mangrove forests, which serve as breeding grounds for fish.

There’s precedent for such a disaster. In 2001, for example, a sunken US oil tanker spilt more than 68,000 litres of oil off the coast of Yap State in Micronesia, coating nearby beaches in black sludge and prompting government officials to temporarily ban fishing in the area.

Removing oil from a single wreck costs money and the New Zealand government has to spend that money and clean the pristine waters off the coast of Siumu. This is a race against time. The longer the wait, the greater the problem will become.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment should have already had a meeting and a plan of action should have been formulated. While the Kiwis should take responsibility for their ship, we also cannot be waiting around.

The government should be ready to open its purse and use money to protect the environment. This time around we cannot use the CHOGM excuse and wait to take action after the event is over. Just a week ago, Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa spoke at the United Nations General Assembly.

She spoke about climate change, the environment and Samoa’s Ocean Strategy 2020. This is the time to put everything to the test. This is not a situation where we submit a report and hope for a donor to come through.

This is an ecological disaster and therefore the response has to be fast like in any emergency. The repercussions of a late response are far greater than just a dent in the government's pocket. We are talking about irreparable damage to the reef, marine life and the people who live along the coast.

Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. Time is critical. If the work doesn’t start now, it will be too late.