Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Anger and frustration is growing in Samoa, with locals fearing for their livelihoods and food source after the HMNZS Manawanui sank off the coast of Upolu over the weekend.

Oil has reportedly been leaking from the New Zealand Navy survey ship which capsized after hitting a reef and catching on fire on Saturday evening.

1News is reporting that personnel headed out to the site yesterday, where three containers were wedged on various parts of the reef. A light film of residual fuel could be seen glistening along the heavy swells as it trailed out of the Manawanui, bringing with it an overpowering smell of diesel.

Village high chief Tuia Pepae Pua said he was alerted to local fishermen selling fish on the roadside yesterday, which were coated in the oil.

"The fish we saw was all oil and I told the fishermen to take it back, don't sell it," he said.

Fisherman Pitoamoa Vaesata said the fish he caught last night has also been contaminated.

He told 1News his family had started to eat the fish but it tasted sour and smelled foul. However, they still felt ill and dizzy after the meal.

There's fears palolo will be affected when it emerges from the reef in a fortnight.

The mayors of the villages dotting the Samoa south coast have met with the New Zealand Government yesterday to voice their concerns.

Pua said it was about making "sure that we voice our human rights in international law, whatever law, that they should be responsible for it".

"We don't have to take it lightly."

(Samoa News should point out that fish imported from Samoa for sale in the territory is said to be common. And, there has been no announcement from the American Samoa Dept. of Health or Agriculture or Agriculture restricting the sale of fish or seafood from Samoa due to possible oil contamination.)

DIVERS WORK ON CONTAINMENT

Divers have described the eerie, "distressing" scene at the site of the HMNZS Manawanui.

A member of the 15-strong Navy survey search and recovery dive team, Ensign Sam King, said the vessel was "lying there up on its right side".

"It's not something you'd really expect to see at all, especially on one of our ships that we've seen very recently at base. We dive to it all the time, we're cleaning it, and it's quite distressing, in a way.

"It's quite sad as well, knowing that we've had a lot of colleagues and friends that served on there over the years, to know they were in a situation like that and we're really happy to hear they all got away safely."

Able Diver Tyler Doole said one of the items salvaged by the team was the voyage data recorder.

"Pretty much it's the black box of the ship, like on an airplane," he said.

"It tells us where the ship's been, what's happened on the ship, and that will go towards the investigation of what happened."

As reporters headed out to the site, where three containers could be seen wedged on various parts of the reef, a light film of residual fuel glistened along the swells as it trailed out of the Manawanui, bringing with it an overpowering smell of diesel.

1News reporters say that they understand there are three points on the ship which are leaking light diesel fuel. The Navy said the tanks are sealed and the petrol coming out is from the pipes in the ship.

"At this stage, we're just identifying where all the important things on the ship are, all the different components," dive team leader Lieutenant Christian Lloyd said.

"We want to firstly identify, potentially, where leakage could occur, or further leakage, as the ship is sitting on bottom."

He said yesterday was a "successful day" as the dive team was able to recover some items of interest that would assist with piecing together the investigation and took the first accurate images of the ship.

Various agencies are working together to assess the situation, he said, with the first few days focused on gathering information