reef

The mega coral - which is a collection of many connected, tiny creatures that together form one organism rather than a reef - could be more than 300 years old.

California moray eels live in coral reefs from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County to southern Baja California in Mexico, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

It added that divers from the Samoan Ministry of Resources and Natural Environment had also "observed damage to the reef where the collision occurred".

Military officials said rescuers "battled" currents and winds that pushed life rafts and sea boats towards the reefs, and swells made rescue efforts "challenging".

Biot’s website boasts that it has the “greatest marine biodiversity in the UK and its Overseas Territories, as well as some of the cleanest seas and healthiest reef systems in the world”.