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| Oil spill from MV Rena reaches the shore |
New Zealand authorities expect that
pollution will get worse but say there seems to be no danger of a container
ship breaking up as it sits stuck on a reef just off the east coast of the
country’s North Island.
The country’s Environment Minister Nick
Smith said: “This event has come to a scale where it is New Zealand
The Greek-owned Rena is stranded 12
nautical miles from Tauranga, with its two forward compartments holed and
flooded. Pumping off more fuel will have to wait for calmer weather. The sea
was running a five-metre swell.
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| People walk on a beach stained with fuel oil leaked from the Liberian-flagged container ship Rena, off the coast of Tauranga, in New Zealand on Tuesday |
A Radio New Zealand journalist at the
scene, Andrew MacRae, told euronews: “The whole thing is at the mercy of the
sea, and because they’re not on board anymore at the moment, and it’s dark,
they can’t see what’s going on. They did have a barge out there a couple of
days ago trying to pump the 1,700 tonnes of oil off, but that ran into problems
straight away and only something like 11 tonnes were taken off. And when they
can get the barge back out there, and that depends on the weather, it will take
probably 24-48 hours before it can then start pumping the oil off.”
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| An oil slick streams from the Rena, container ship grounded on a reef in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty. Photog -Getty |
The fine sand beaches affected are a
prime attraction for surfers at the best of times. Further out, the sea has an
international reputation for big-game fishing. Volunteers are shovelling up
clumps of oil.
Local fisherman Barry Connolly told
euronews: “Some of the people who’ve been here from all around the world, who
have seen it, have said this is one of the most beautiful beaches that they’ve
ever seen, so everybody here is pretty pissed off!”
The ship struck the Astrolabe Reef,
which is clearly marked on charts, last Wednesday.
Source: Euro News. 11 October 2011
NZ’s ‘worst maritime environmental
disaster’:
An oil spill in New Zealand
Officials have confirmed that oil is
now pouring into the sea at a faster rate than previously thought.
Yesterday authorities said up to 30
tonnes of oil had leaked from the grounded container ship Rena, but now say the
figure could be as high as 350.
Oil has already begun to come ashore on
numerous beaches in the Bay
of Plenty
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| One of the penguins being cared for at the wildlife rehabilitation facility set up at Tauranga |
Bad weather has been hampering efforts
to pump some 1700 tonnes of oil from the ship, which is also carrying
containers with toxic materials
Source: Euro News. 11 October 2011
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