Efforts to salvage a longliner which ran aground in American Samoa on Friday are being hampered by bad weather.
There is increasing concern that up to 4,000 litres of fuel and 75 tonnes of fish could be spilled into the ocean in Coconut Point where the Taiwanese-flagged vessel hit the reef.
Two members of the Coast Guard Pacific Strike Team arrived from Hawaii last night to help assess and salvage the vessel.
The Chief Petty Officer Shaun Corrigan says the weather forecast for the next few days is making that difficult.
"There's some heavy weather coming. On Wednesday afternoon, we should start to see a southerly swell and that means the surf breaking on the boat is going to be on the 10 to 15 foot size making it even more dangerous and difficult to access the boat, and probably causing more damage to it, making it even less likely to be salvaged in one piece."
