Fuel has been pumped from the stricken container ship Rena onto the Awanuia vessel overnight.

The Awanuia is now berthed alongside Rena at Astrolabe Reef and salvors have been working overnight to pump fuel from the Rena onto Awanuia.

An estimated 10 tonnes of fuel now removed from the Awanuia.

Salvors on board are focusing on pumping the fuel from the damaged number three tank into the number five tank, which is near the rear of the ship to make it easier for transfer onto the Awanuia.

There is 1700 tonnes of fuel on the ship and it is expected to take about two days to remove oil from Rena onto Awanuia.

The HMNZS Endeavour arrived in Tauranga at 8pm on Sunday, October 9 and will be used as a command platform during operations.

There is less oil around the ship now and not a lot of oil to be broken up. On-water recovery has collected oily water from around Rena.

The total number of oiled birds recovered stands at eight. About 200 birds may be affected by oil coming ashore in the Papamoa area, which includes Little Blue Penguins, Shags and Red-billed Gulls.