Tag: New Zealand

Between 40 and 1400 tonnes of fuel oil were leaked into the ocean A couple of years ago, the writer Nassim Nicholas Taleb invented a new metaphor which describes what he calls low probability, high impact events -- the Black Swan. For centuries this creature was not thought to exist, but then the discovery of a single animal turned this assumption on its head. What Taleb is getting at is the way in which our ideas about the way the world works can be totally shifted by a single, shocking event. Once it happens, the author notes, humans are pretty good at concocting explanations for why it did, to make the thing seem more normal, to allow us to continue on as before.The sinking of the 'unsinkable' Titanic: a classic black swan. The BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, another. Exxon Valdez? Sure. This week's grounding of a tanker carrying fuel oil through one of the most beautiful marine environments on earth? Just the latest.As the 21st century evolves around us, one thing is clear. When it comes to mankind's thirst for energy we are entering uncharted waters, and the old assumptions are no longer cutting it. Major ...

A total of 171 tonnes have already been removed Salvage operations on board the cargo vessel Rena are progressing slowly but steadily, with a total of 171 tonnes removed from the vessel by this afternoon.The port number 5 tank from which fuel is being pumped originally held 772 tonnes.MNZ Salvage Unit Manager Bruce Anderson said the key focus for the salvage team today had been to establish continuous pumping off the vessel, and they had achieved that."Their focus now is on getting that flow happening more quickly. They have a range of options they will be testing to speed up the process - they will be working through these over the next 24 to 48 hours."The oil is very difficult to work with and is flowing very slowly at present. However, the team will be doing everything they can to get it moving faster."Mr Anderson said the team would continue pumping overnight, if weather allowed."We have fine weather forecast until Wednesday so we are taking advantage of the good weather while we can."This afternoon, the National On Scene Commander Alex van Wijngaarden reopened the Mount Maunganui beach from the base track through to Tay Street (approximately 3km).The beach was now ...

Latest updates The removal of oil from the vessel Rena continues this evening, following the re-establishment of pumping lines earlier this afternoon. Figures on how much oil has been pumped from the ship today are not yet available.Salvage unit manager Bruce Anderson says the booster pump was also reinstalled to aid the speed of pumping but a circuit blow-out required a back-up booster pump to be installed."The salvors have contingency upon contingency for situations like these. A backup booster pump has been brought in and the existing pump will have the circuit repaired."He says divers have entered the ship through a submerged corridor to investigate the seals of the starboard-side engine room manhole."This is in preparation for creating a cofferdam (an enclosure to create a dry work environment) to allow access to the starboard-side fuel tanks."Salvors will remain aboard the Rena tonight to continue with the highly complex pumping operation.The exclusion zone is currently being reviewed by the regional harbourmaster.Of the 88 containers lost overboard, 29 containers are unaccounted for. Braemar Howells Ltd, the company appointed by the salvors for the recovery of containers, has employed a side-scanning sonar to aid location and recovery.The Wildlife Response Unit has established a ...

Rules place limits on compensation, general average may hit customers Shippers without specific safeguards in bills of lading who lose cargo from the stranded container ship Rena off the coast of New Zealand may see strict limits on their compensation as the complicated international rules of cargo liability take hold, according to a maritime attorney in Washington.Ashley Craig, a partner with the Venable firm, said international maritime conventions dictate shippers from most countries outside the United States will have compensation limited by conventions in place for containers lost in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty unless the shippers elected to increase the liability levels. Compensation for cargo originating from the U.S. tops out at $500 per container, depending on the type of cargo, the weight and other factors unless separate provisions are made in the bill of lading, said Craig.Compensation, he said, is based on the freight unit under the bill of lading and so may not be based on entire containers.Shippers with goods on the vessel also may face the potential for a deeper financial hit from the Rena disaster under the maritime legal principle known as general average. Under the internationally recognized principle, all shippers with goods on a ...

Cleanup and salvage effort for crippled vessel moves into third week Mediterranean Shipping said Wednesday it is awaiting word from Rena vessel owner Costamare and a salvage company as the ship owner's insurer said it would meet all obligations in the maritime disaster off the coast of New Zealand.The Swedish Club, the insurance company for Rena owner and operator Costamare, issued a statement saying the carrier's "obligations will be met in full."Costamare did not return requests for comment on questions of liability and potential cargo claims from the Oct. 5 disaster that came when the container ship ran aground on a reef about 15 miles off the coast of New Zealand.MSC, which had chartered the vessel, said it was waiting to hear from Costamare and the salvage company before it could address questions from its customers."Right now, a very complicated salvage process is underway and we can do nothing until that process is completed and we receive word," said Allen Clifford, an executive vice president at MSC (USA). "Everything is in the complete hands of the salvors and Costamare."Shipper claims for losses from the ship disaster will fall into the complicated world of international maritime law and industry attorneys say ...

The 350 tons that has already leaked has killed nearly 1,300 birds Bad weather continues to thwart attempts to remove the remaining oil from the leaking cargo ship grounded off the coast of Northern New Zealand.According to New Zealand officials, "A small amount of oil was released from the bow of Rena morning." The Wall Street Journal reported that oil removal from the vessel was halted late Monday after weather conditions worsened.Despite the continuing oil leakage and cracks on both sides of the ship, the Rena is "still held together through its internal structure," an official with Maritime New Zealand told The Wall Street Journal.This latest impasse means that more oil is likely to be spilled into the water around New Zealand's North Island. The Los Angeles Times reported that officials estimate there to be 1,400 tons of oil remaining on the ship. The 350 tons that has already leaked has reportedly killed nearly 1,300 birds.The company that was chartering a cargo ship at the time it ran aground on a New Zealand reef and began spilling tons of oil offered 1 million New Zealand dollars ($800,000) Tuesday to help with the cleanup.Meanwhile, salvage crews have again halted attempts to ...

Facing charges for causing unnecessary danger or risk Two ship captains appeared in court Wednesday in the New Zealand port of Tauranga, each facing the same charge but in very different cases.The two seamen, both 44, are each charged under the Maritime Act with operating a ship in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk and could go to prison for 12 months.But their cases, and their boats, have little else in common.One is the Philippine skipper of the 47,000-ton cargo carrier Rena, which ran aground on a reef as it sailed into the east coast port of Tauranga in the early hours of his birthday on October 5.The Filipino has been accused along with his navigation officer of causing an oil spill that has polluted nearby beaches and killed nearly 1,300 seabirds.The court has ruled to keep their identities secret to protect them from angry locals.In the other case, Maori fisherman Elvis Heremaia Teddy, captain of the 12-metre San Pietro, faces the same charge for obstructing a ship prospecting for oil in his tribe's traditional fishing waters.Teddy was arrested April 23 after setting his nets in front of the chartered survey vessel off the East Cape, telling its crew ...

MV RENA oil spill - New Zealand's biggest maritime environmental disaste

The clean-up so far cost is estimated at $12.1 million The Prime Minister has indicated the Government will chase more cash from the Rena's owners than the estimated liability it already faces. But whether it will be successful is unclear.This comes as Tauranga businesses are already taking a hit from the Rena oil spill and could do with immediate financial relief.The Government is considering a compensation package, but Transport Minister Steven Joyce said it was not committing to anything at this stage.Under the Maritime Transport Act the capped civil liability to the ship's insurers is estimated at $14 million by legal commentators. John Key said the clean-up so far had cost an estimated $12.1 million.The liability pales beside what the ship is insured for: US$4.2 billion for a single event with a sub-limit of about US$1 billion for a pollution event.Treasury and the Ministry for the Environment were still working on a figure for what the disaster was likely to cost the country.Mr Key said yesterday there was discussion and ongoing negotiations with the owners in terms of what the absolute liability would be but the Government wasn't without potential legal remedies."They come through the RMA act and then also ...

MV Rena has been stuck for nine days , spilling about 300 tonnes of heavy toxic fuel Salvage teams raced on Friday to resume pumping oil from a stricken container ship which has almost split into two pieces off the New Zealand coast as businesses started to count the cost of the country's worst environmental disaster in decades.The Liberian-flagged Rena has been stuck for nine days on a reef 14 miles (22 km) off Tauranga on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, spilling about 300 tonnes of heavy toxic fuel and some of its hundreds of containers into the sea.Authorities said the 236-metre (775-foot) ship was in a precarious position, as salvage teams prepared to cut holes in the stern to get to the tanks holding more than 1,000 tonnes of fuel."What's holding the vessel together at the moment is the fact she's lying on the reef and some internal structures, companionways, ducting and the like inside the vessel," Maritime NZ spokesman Andrew Berry told a meeting of local residents.The salvage teams are working to install equipment and platforms on the high side of the aft section of the 47,230-tonne ship, which is listing at up to 25 ...