Container ship grounded near Maré

On July 12, 2017, at 1.18 a.m. the "Kea Trader", enroute from Papeete to Noumea, ran onto the Durand reefs 50 miles SE of the island of Maré in the Loyauté archipelago. An assessment and response team was hoisted onto the ship by a Puma helicopter of the Armed Forces of New Caledonia. The team was composed of four civilian and military maritime expert. The ship was hard aground, but stable on the reef. No pollutants were detected at this stage and the crew of 18 remained safe on board. The shipowner has been called upon to present a salvage plan to put an end to any risk of danger to persons or the environment.