A team of New Zealand marine pollution experts has been sent to Samoa following the grounding of a container ship at the entrance to Apia harbour.
The Forum Samoa II, a 126-metre container ship carrying fuel oil, was holed after it ran aground on a coral reef.
Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully says five experts from Maritime New Zealand have flown to Samoa on Thursday.
Mr McCully says the Samoan Government asked New Zealand for assistance in dealing with any possible oil spill.
