Tag: New Zealand

Rough seas over the weekend caused more oil to be spilled Exactly two months after the cargo ship Rena ran aground on a reef off New Zealand, causing the country's worst ever maritime environment disaster, authorities launched a new oil spill alert on Monday.The state Maritime New Zealand agency, which is overseeing salvage of the vessel, said rough seas over the weekend caused more oil to be spilled and 'sticky tar balls' could be washed up on beaches.The Rena spilled about 360 tons of heavy fuel oil after it hit the reef, 22 kilometres off the east coast port of Tauranga on October 5. The spill killed more than 2,000 seabirds and another 550 oil-contaminated birds and little blue penguins were caught and cleaned up at a temporary wildlife facility.Most of the oil left on the ship has been pumped off, but the spill fouled some of the North Island's finest beaches and clean-up squads have collected nearly 1,000 tons of contaminated sand.A Maritime New Zealand statement said the release of 'a small amount of weathered oil' from under the wreck on Saturday night could result in 'some light oiling' reaching a 16-kilometre stretch of beach, and clean-up crews were ...

MV RENA Updates Rena is still intact after the weekend's stormy weather. Electronic sensors monitoring the movement of the wreck indicated some extra movement during last night's swells, but Svitzer advises there was nothing untoward in the readings.Salvage teams are going out to the wreck this morning to resume work on installing patches in the passages on Rena, to improve buoyancy.No container removal operations were undertaken over the weekend due to high swells. Container removal operations are not expected to resume for the next day or so.A total of 167 containers have been removed from Rena. There were 1368 containers on board when Rena ran aground, and an estimated 87 were washed overboard on 12 October, leaving 1114 on board today.The crane barge Smit Borneo is expected to arrive from Singapore around 11am today. The barge will remain in port for several days while the barge is prepared for container removal.The Sea Tow 60 is also in port.The anchor handling tug Go Canopus remains attached to Rena.Winds are blowing north easterly at about 15 knots, shifting to northwest today with low cloud and swells of a maximum 4m. Another weather spike is expected tomorrow night and wet weather is set ...

A total of 87 containers fell overboard in bad weather - salvage operation continues A loaded cargo ship, described by salvage workers as a 'lame, dying, beast', is still clinging to a reef off the New Zealand coast, two months after running aground in the middle of the night on the captain's birthday.Cracked down the middle, listing 21 degrees and piled high with goods containers, the 47,230-tonne Rena creaks and groans as steel plates in its fractured hull grind against each other with the sea's constant swell, continuing to defy weeks of predictions that the vessel is about to break up.A salvage team is painstakingly removing the containers, which have hung over the edge, teetering in a gravity-defying manner since the ship hit the reef on October 5. Their progress is reported in a daily bulletin, which most recently confirmed that the Rena remains fragile, but intact.The job is highly dangerous. The 40-man salvage team from Dutch company Svitzer dice with death as they clamber at dizzying heights over the containers, attaching them to a crane to be hoisted onto an adjacent boat and taken ashore.The Liberian-registered Rena, manned by a 25-man Filipino crew, ran onto the Astrolabe Reef, 22 ...

MV RENA Updates Container removal from the stricken ship Rena off the coast of Tauranga is proceeding well - but the removal operation continues to be weather dependent, Maritime New Zealand's National On Scene Commander Rob Service said.A total of 165 containers have been removed so far, with 20 removed today (as at 4.00pm).Mr Service warned that removing containers would become progressively more difficult, and the operation would need to stop during periods of high winds and swells, which were being constantly monitored.He said it was always a concern about how long the operation would take, but it had to be done safely, and each stack of containers had to be individually managed.Low-level beach cleaning activities were continuing at Mt Maunganui, Maketu, Matakana and Motiti islands today, and at Papamoa beach where oil had resurfaced. Oil that had been deposited on the beach is likely to be covered and uncovered by normal coastal processes for some time, he said.However the amount of oil was not significant and, overall, the amount of oil being discovered was decreasing.Meanwhile a wildlife response team captured and examined 80 penguins last night on Rabbit Island but found no oiled birds. Thirteen of those captured were ...

There are 21 containers containing 490 tonnes of the toxic substance Cryolite The discovery that undeclared hazardous goods on the grounded cargo ship Rena may be leaching toxins into the sea highlights the importance of looking after our natural environment, said the Green Party today."It is deeply concerning to learn that another substance is threatening the marine environment of the Bay of Plenty. First it was oil, now it is a toxic by-product of the aluminium smelting process," said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.Maritime New Zealand today announced the discovery on board the Rena of 21 containers containing 490 tonnes of the toxic substance Cryolite, a by-product from the aluminium smelting process. Seventeen containers are understood to be submerged, which means the substance could be leaching toxins into the sea."It's not good enough that the hazardous substances were not declared. We urgently need to get to the bottom of who was responsible for withholding the information," said Mrs Turei."We also need to do everything we can to make coastal shipping safer. Ships regularly carry hazardous goods in New Zealand waters, and we need to make sure accidents like this don't happen again."The Green Party has been campaigning for stronger environmental ...

The release of 60 penguins The release of 60 penguins at Mt Maunganui beach today is a significant milestone in the Bay of Plenty's recovery from the Rena oil spill and environmental disaster, Environment Minister Nick Smith said today."It is a heart-warming experience after the devastating scene of oiled and dead birds to see these healthy penguins returning to their natural habitat," Dr Smith said."The wildlife response to this disaster has been first class. The specialist teams were on the ground within 24 hours of the Rena hitting the Astrolabe Reef, had facilities available within days and were able to recover as many oiled birds as possible. Their efforts have saved hundreds of birds from an ugly death and ensured we have the base breeding stock for the populations of penguins, shags, petrels and dotterels to recover."I want to acknowledge the efforts of Maritime New Zealand, Department of Conservation, iwi, New Zealand Defence Force, and the thousands of volunteers who recovered oiled birds and cleaned up the beaches and coast to enable these birds to return to their natural habitat."The Government will be meeting next week with local councils and iwi to finalise the long-term environmental recovery plan. We want ...

The release of 60 penguins

After being contaminated by an oil spill off New Zealand Forty-nine little blue penguins rescued and cleaned up after being contaminated by an oil spill off New Zealand nearly seven weeks ago were released into the sea on Tuesday.Maritime New Zealand, which is supervising salvage of the 47,000-ton Rena, said it was the start of a staged release of wildlife over the next few weeks.More than 2,000 seabirds died after about 360 tons of heavy fuel oil spilled from a cargo ship that grounded on a reef 22 kilometres off the east coast port of Tauranga, on October 5.More than 300 penguins are still being held at a wildlife centre after the country's worst marine environmental disaster.Salvage workers managed to pump most of the 1,700 tons of oil from the Liberian-registered Rena. The ship remains on the reef, severely damaged and listing 21 degrees.Veterinarian Brett Gartrell told the Bay of Plenty Times the penguins were made to swim for six hours in their pool on Monday to test their ability to survive in the wild again.'We're simulating the fact the penguins have to spend the whole day out on the water,' he said. 'They were then checked to make sure ...

Salvors may continue to remove containers from the vessel The exclusion zone around the stranded container ship Rena has been reduced, allowing charter operators and others access to the popular coastal area as salvors continue to remove containers from the vessel.Salvors removed 31 containers of 1280 left on the ship on Friday. The Rena grounded on Astrolabe Reef off the coast of Tauranga on October 5. It was carrying 1368 containers when it grounded and 88 containers have fallen off the ship.The weather is fine in the region on Saturday and salvors are continuing their work, Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) says.Clean-up operations will also continue on Leisure Island, Matakana Island, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa and the Kaituna River Mouth, MNZ says.The Bay of Plenty Regional Council's harbourmaster has reduced the exclusion zone to three nautical miles around the ship.The new zone was put in place from midnight on Friday.About 350 tonnes of oil leaked from the ship.Source: Maritime NZ

MV RENA Updates Calm conditions have allowed 15 more containers to be lifted from the rear of the cargo ship Rena to the crane barge Sea Tow 60 (ST 60), Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) says.This brings the total number of containers removed to 18, after three were removed yesterday.MNZ Salvage Unit Manager Kenny Crawford said "With every container removed, the consequences are lessened, but every day is a new day and each container presents its own puzzle."Cranes cannot operate in winds greater than around 24 knots, so we are very much at the mercy of the weather. Even if it looks calm, strong winds can halt operations," Mr Crawford said.Salvors have now fitted 220 transponders to containers aboard the Rena and tugs are on hand to provide additional support for vessel operations.Containers recovered from the Rena are being transferred from the ST60 on to the salvage support vessel Go Canopus, before being brought into port for unloading and processing as required. Container processing is being carried out by Braemar Howells.Containers that need cleaning and treatment will be taken to the waste transfer centre in Truman Lane. Harrison's Cut will be used only for submerged or floating containers, which, for whatever ...