The captain of the stranded cargo ship Rena is to appear in the Tauranga District Court today, facing a charge under the Maritime Act.

The man, whose name is not being released at this time, was detained by police overnight.

Maritime New Zealand has confirmed 70 containers have fallen off the ship, which is stuck on Astrolabe Reef.

'The good thing is from what we believe is that none of the containers contain dangerous chemicals have come off the ship.”

A Maritime NZ spokesperson says a visual survey done at first light this morning revealed the containers in the water.

'They will float for the next two days and we believe they will come ashore. We are forecasting the movements of them today and believe they may come ashore at Motiti Island.

'When that happens, police and fire services will take care of them from there.”

The ship's list has also increased with Maritime NZ saying it is now listing more than 20 degrees to starboard.

'An aerial survey will be conducted sometime today to assess the full situation, but that's dependant on the weather.”

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