Samoa says 200,000 litres of diesel has leaked into the sea after HMNZS Manawanui hit a reef, with officials now racing to remove tons more fuel ahead of cyclone season

From the sky you can see it. A long white blot in the perfect blue. The HMNZS Manawanui lies about 35 metres beneath the surface of Samoa’s southern coastal waters, now just the ghost of a navy ship.

But what can’t be seen is the damage left in its wake – to the reef nearby and to the clear waters off the Pacific country, whose way of life is dependent on the ocean.