Heavy fuel oil continues to leak from the stranded ship Rena with a 5km slick heading northwest towards the Department of Conservation marine and birdlife reserve Mayor Island.
National on Scene Commander Rob Service has despatched a light aircraft to monitor the slick and its threat to the island.
Rena remains stuck fast at Astrolabe Reef.
'A plane is up as we speak assessing where the fuel is and where it isn't,” he said during a press conference held this afternoon at the Mount Maunganui Cosmopolitan Club.
'Rena has been declared a hazardous ship. As far as I know the heavy fuel oil is coming from a breach in the pipework.”
Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef at about 2.20am on Wednesday and has leaked fuel since.
'It is uncertain at this stage how much fuel has leaked,” says Rob.
Initial estimates of how much fuel was onboard stated about 1700 tonnes, but at today's press conference this was revised to about 1500 tonnes.
The slick is a narrow band.
Rob says stopping the leak is difficult as it is intermittent and likely sourced from multiple places.
He says the fuel tanks are secure and the leaks are from pipework.
The focus of the combined response team, which includes Maritime New Zealand, Department of Conservation and Bay of Plenty Regional Council, is containment of the oil.
"The aim of the response is to minimise the impact of spilled oil in the Bay of Plenty.
19 comments
Experts
Posted on 06-10-2011 17:16 | By sanddancer
As usual the experts sit on their hands instead of getting the fuel off as soon as it happened. Experts? Ex is a has been, spurt is a drip under pressure.
i dont get it....
Posted on 06-10-2011 17:18 | By Donnaw
is it just me or do other people think that this oil slick should have been stopped YESTERDAY! Its all very well to monitor it, but monitoring does not stop a terrible thing hapening to our precious coastline. Surely there is something that can be done to minimise it now before its too late
LIARS!!!!
Posted on 06-10-2011 18:13 | By kiwigrunt
first they tell us its only hydralic fluid now we find out the truth!!!!! The Liars need to be held accountable at ALL costs!!! Imprisonment and public humiliation for all of those lying scumbags.
HFO
Posted on 06-10-2011 18:49 | By dgk
Seems it originally leaked some hydraulic oil. But the process of pumping the HFO from one side of the ship to the oil caused some major leaks. Seems the pumps are as good as the navigation skills..... It also appears that the various government department cuts by National mean we don't have any oil containment gear permanently located here in Tauranga.
get helicopters
Posted on 06-10-2011 20:23 | By charob
wht is wrong with getting helecopters out there and get the containers off. Oh dont tell me the pen pushers have to do there homework and calcualations. and anotehr week well be gone by. geeeeeeeeeeeeeeees red tape.
Channel the blame
Posted on 06-10-2011 21:12 | By kiwiwayno
I dont agree with many of the emotional comments here - least of which is the left wing politicising of this issue - NOTHING has changed in 3 years dgk. Maritime NZ have always had responsbility for this along with Regional Councils. (And yes I have experience in this area). Short of a magic wand, how the hell can these guys be expected to fix it the same day? Let the crews get on with their jobs and start channelling your anger at the Captain. What the hell was the vessel doing here in the first place. He should be facing criminal charges. Its easy to throw stones from the comfort of your armchairs folks, but unless you are out there in the thick of it, its hard to see what's really going on..........
Channel the blame
Posted on 06-10-2011 21:12 | By kiwiwayno
I dont agree with many of the emotional comments here - least of which is the left wing politicising of this issue - NOTHING has changed in 3 years dgk. Maritime NZ have always had responsbility for this along with Regional Councils. (And yes I have experience in this area). Short of a magic wand, how the hell can these guys be expected to fix it the same day? Let the crews get on with their jobs and start channelling your anger at the Captain. What the hell was the vessel doing here in the first place. He should be facing criminal charges. Its easy to throw stones from the comfort of your armchairs folks, but unless you are out there in the thick of it, its hard to see what's really going on..........
IMINENT BREAKUP
Posted on 06-10-2011 21:14 | By ANNA KISSED
The big challenge here is now to stop it snapping in half, a big sea will be the sinking of it. Only way is to get a heap of containers off it and then somehow drag it off the reef but it is stuck fast and high and dry to. More damage will be done to drag it off, that will mean a heap of power to do it cos it hit at full steam anyway. End result it will sink. May as well pump out the oil and fuel and then get as many containers off it as possible. I can not see that a barge will be any use as to shallow around it + risky with the bits of reef etc there to. Only way to do something is with a HEAVY-LIFT helicopter and ferry the containers into the port by air as no time will be saved by stacking containers on a barge out there. What a mess, I read before about the EXXON VALDEZ in Alaska; reports are that the crew were well hammered that night on the trip from Wellington, Napier and to Tauranga.
Hammer them
Posted on 06-10-2011 21:23 | By Leigh
Its high time we came down heavy on these ships/crews that are not up to scratch either though seaworthiness or seamanship. How many more of these events are going to happen before we have an environmental disaster such as those overseas that destroy large areas. We are regualted for so many areas of our lives, yet we allow these ships here with substandard maintainance and crews !! Fine them, seize the boat, do what ever it takes to prevent this happening again
Heads need to roll
Posted on 06-10-2011 21:25 | By justice
There is a so called emergency response team! That would make a good tui billboard, why the hell was there not a oil soaking ring put around the ship at first light on wed? whoever is running the operation grow some balls, make desitions and get the bloody ball rolling! First and fore most get the slik sorted!!
Response....What response !!
Posted on 06-10-2011 22:38 | By What Response
Every stranded ship leaks oil, it was only a matter of time !! Monitoring doesn't do jack, how about being pro-active and do something. Many people have suggested good ideas, it's not like the weather has been against them. Meanwhile the Bureaucrats sit on their butts drinking coffee 'thinking' about what to do. The environment, wildlife and our beautiful coastline is going to suffer! What a complete bunch of idiots they are, from the Captain to the response team.
dgk
Posted on 07-10-2011 05:37 | By jimmi
what a load of rubbish, you cannot blame the National Goverment for this, and as a reply we had 12 of the best economic years under a Labour led Goverment who brain washed the bueracrats into thinking they were indispensible, and all we have now are a group of people who do not kwnow how to make constructive decisions, but get paid huge salaries, to shuffle paper, action speaks louder than words. Anyway lets get the bloody mess cleaned up and worry about the blame game later.
Move It Move it Move it !!!
Posted on 07-10-2011 06:28 | By STRAITAS
Wats the use of sending up a spotter plane, Everybody knows' it's leaking. As i read in some of the other story comments. Why????? is there NO Oil Contaminate Devices and Equipment held here in Tauranga the second BIGGEST Container Shipping Port in NEW ZEALAND They could have had the stuff out and around that ship with in a few hours of hitting the Reef. I do hope the company that own the ship pay the bill. They should add a heap extra on top then they could buy the Contaminate Gear and store it here in Tauranga.
I hate to ask but,
Posted on 07-10-2011 06:43 | By bigted
Where are Environment BOP in this problem? Strangely quiet. Surely NOW is when we need them? What are we paying them for - paper shuffling and hand wringing?
Support the response teams
Posted on 07-10-2011 07:06 | By IanM
If our emergency response capacity is limited by equipment or funding, that is one thing. If it is being restricted by the vessel owners, that is something else. Right now, stable weather is providing a window of opportunity to get that fuel off. It won't last. So let's hope it can be achieved. The prospect of all those containers coming loose and floating around is pretty scarey as well. No doubt the response teams are doing everything they can within the limits of their funding and equipment capability. Please, please let it be enough. Good luck folks, and our thoughts are with you.
Rather than warn off sightseeing boats . .
Posted on 07-10-2011 09:07 | By Gee Really
get on with the job of containing the spill and getting the ship off while it's calm. I actually want sightseeing boats out there so we can get independent reports on what's really happening, minus the spin. I'd like action rather than talk. It would be good to see accountability from the owners of the ship. Is our regional council and our government up to these tasks? The answer will soon be obvious.
Bureaucracy
Posted on 07-10-2011 09:35 | By SpeakUp
Never let a good crises go to waste. Get the best buck for the bang. A whole apparatus of administrators, consultants, bureaucrats, agencies etc wants to be fed. Competency and decisiveness has been replaced by trying to appear important and in control, but otherwise acting with typical bureaucratic menace. Kiwi ingenuity has been replaced by excessive bureaucratic rules and laws. A multy-layered, suffocating and unsustainable bureaucracy is not only GDP draining but in this case also failing to provide fast and pragmatic service. What are we paying these people for?
hello
Posted on 03-11-2011 12:16 | By nuggetman
hi and bye
hi
Posted on 03-11-2011 12:18 | By nuggetman
does any one have any awser abbout wat would be the biggest economical impact on the bay of plenty
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