Media representatives were ferried out today to observe the container ship Rena hard aground on the Astrolabe Reef to get a closer look at the source of the oil that is beginning to pollute the Bay of Plenty.
The Tauranga Volunteer Coastguard's TECT Rescue boat took reporters and photographers out, while being careful not to get too close to the oil which is being blown out to sea today by the offshore breeze.
Boats heading out to view the oil slick will be expensive to clean up.
The Tauranga Harbourmaster's boat Taniwha, which was forced into a close encounter with the slick on Thursday, is the first to get its oily hull cleaned at the Bridge Marina Travel Lift.
Operator Bruce Goodchap says the best advice for boaties wanting to look at the wreck is to stay well away from the oil – cleaning it off is going to be an expensive job.
The Harbourmasters's boat took two people some two hours to clean round the waterline and engines.
It took 10 litres of thinners and a bottle of simple green says Bruce.
'It can be wiped off and contained in rags. It's not oil as we are used to, it's almost like tar.”
Oily boats are also going to ruin his slings, a $3000 cost that will have to be factored in if there is a rush of oily boats that have to be cleaned off.
The oil will sink into the slings and they will never be able to get it out of them says Bruce.
'The best advice is to stay well clear of it.”
Media get a close-up view of container ship Rena which is leaking oil.
The scene at the reef today was quiet. The dive tender is anchored alongside the ship's port side and a tub boat standing off about 300m.
The Whakatane Harbourmaster's boat is on station today, warning sightseers of the 1km exclusion zone surrounding the wreck.
Unfortunately the oil slick is no respecter of zones.
6 comments
SORT IT OUT
Posted on 07-10-2011 15:26 | By antares
How long is it going to be before someone gets their butts into gear and does something about this montrosity sorted. Its been sitting for two days and our future is in jeopardy. Its in NZ waters so the government should have the right to remove at whatever cost to the company it takes. Or is it going to be the Pike Mine and wait until its too late.!
Hear hear
Posted on 07-10-2011 17:24 | By ronillian
I agree with antares. It's time the central govt got involved and took over responsibility for keeping our coastline and environment clean and green. Leaving the cleanup and salvage to vested interests is not the way to go to get the instant action required to avert a calamity for our environment. And there's no way we could avert an even bigger catastrophe if Petrobras goes ahead and starts offshore deep sea drilling off our east coast and something goes wrong. There's a lesson to be learned from this!
Spill-Sorb
Posted on 07-10-2011 18:05 | By beached
Spill-Sorb is a non-toxic, all natural, 100% organic, lab-tested, field proven, industrial absorbent that is economical, efficient, non-abrasive, non-toxic, non-leaching and in its natural state is already biodegraded. Spill-Sorb absorbent provides absorbent solutions for land and off shore applications.
YES use Spill - Sorb...
Posted on 07-10-2011 22:57 | By lisapepper
I can't believe that we are going offshore to get help when as 'Beached'says the answer is here in NZ. Check it out and tell the people who make decisions - one would think they would know about this already and be prepared for this sort of catastrophic event...
congratulations
Posted on 08-10-2011 05:54 | By jimmi
to the Sunlive team, for exposing the bueracratic idiots for what they are, over paid pussies!!!!!, I actually stated Wednesday afternoon, that the autourities had a window of opportunity to try and action some sort of containment plan, until the correct equipment arrives, now its Saturday, with a 30knot Easterly blow on the way, and here was I thinking when you have a "crisis mamagement team", they get paid to make quick decisions, and cut through the red tape. well silly me, the only crisis that they maybe able to manage, is finding the T.V remote, and I have my doubts about that.
We live in a land DownUnder...
Posted on 08-10-2011 07:03 | By SpeakUp
...where nobody acts and bureaucrats plunder. Why is there no speedy approach? Is that not obvious? It is the old and proven use of a crisis for gain and profit. EVERYBODY involved in the bureaucracy, in assessment, planning, supervision, insurance, legalities, investigation, salvage, clean up, political aftermath and so on, is profiteering from this sort of disaster. 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. Smokescreen bureaucracy = superfluous officialdom draining society.
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