An oil spill is “highly probable” from a grounded New Zealand navy ship which sank and caught fire off the coast of Samoa, the Pacific island nation’s acting prime minister said late Sunday.
Officials in Samoa are conducting an environmental impact assessment in the area where the ship sank on Sunday morning, acting Prime Minister Tuala Tevaga Iosefo Ponifasio said in a statement.
As far as I understand the reports, the headline is correct.
It ran aground on a reef and got damaged beyond repair. While it is not fully submerged, the term “sunk” still applies.