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| It has the potential to be a significant environmental impact : Bruce Anderson, Maritime New Zealand |
Oil leaking from the Liberian-flagged
Rena has created a 5-km (3-mile) slick.
An all-out effort is under way to
remove nearly 2,000 tonnes of oil from the vessel, which is stranded 12
nautical miles off the coast.
Heavy swells and gale-force winds are
forecast for the area from Monday.
Officials say 20-30 tonnes of oil have
spilled into the Bay
of Plenty
If the ship breaks up, it could release
1,700 tonnes of heavy fuel into an area that is home to whales, dolphins,
seals, penguins and a variety of other birds.
'Working tirelessly'
John Key, who flew over the scene in a
helicopter on Sunday, said two inquiries to determine why the ship had collided
with the Astrolabe Reef were already under way.
"People know about the reef, and
for it to plough into it for no particular reason - at night, in calm waters -
tells you something terrible has gone wrong and we need to understand
why," he told Radio New Zealand.
A barge is berthed alongside the Rena
and the salvage team hope to begin pumping oil off the stricken vessel in the
coming hours, MNZ said in an update on Sunday.
Salvage experts are on board the Rena
and have specialist equipment to warn them if the ship is in danger of breaking
up, it added.
"The top priority is to first
remove the oil, then lighten the vessel by removing the containers, and
finally, move the ship off the reef," the MNZ said.
Two barges have begun scooping up the
oil that has spilled into the sea, but the MNZ said it expected to see more oil
in the water in the coming days and washing up on nearby beaches around
Wednesday or Thursday.
"The weather is starting to
change, and is forecast to deteriorate over the coming days, which will impact
on both the salvage and oil recovery effort," it warned.
Experts say the arrival of stormy
weather could lead to the break-up of the Rena, as one end is stuck on the reef
while the other end floats free.
"Once you increase the swell, the
upsurge, the lift on the aft end of the ship will increase, and the chances of
her separating start to rise," explained Marine Risk Assessor John Riding.
The MV Rena's owners, Greece-based
Costamare Inc, said they were "working tirelessly" on the response.
"Minimising any impact to New Zealand
The next 48 hours will determine
whether this incident can be contained or become a serious environmental
disaster, the BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Australia
Exclusion zone
The department of conservation has
established 2 wildlife rescue centres and dispatched teams to scour the
beaches and islands of the Bay
of Plenty
The maritime authorities has said a
total of 8 oiled birds, including little blue penguins, had been recovered
and taken to a wildlife facility in Te Maunga.
"From tip to toe, they are covered
in black sticky gunk, matting up all their feathers right down to the
skin," said Brett Gartrell of New Zealand
MNZ has established a one-kilometre
maritime exclusion zone around the ship and warns that the fuel oil is toxic.
The animal welfare group Forest and Bird said the timing of the accident, in the
middle of the breeding season for birds, was "disastrous".
Source: BBC. 9 October 2011
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