Labour leader Phil Goff says Bay of Plenty residents are facing both an environmental and economic disaster due to the oil spill from stricken cargo ship Rena.

Phil visited Tauranga on Wednesday, October 12 to get a first hand look at the oil washing onto beaches from the Rena wreck on Astrolabe Reef.

Labour leader Phil Goff visited Tauranga yesterday. See video below of Phil Goff at SunLive newsroom.

'It is pretty dismal news here today. There is a lot of very angry people out there, it was over a week ago since the ship grounded on the reef and people want to know why the fuel is still on the ship.”

Phil says the Bay of Plenty relies on the ocean for income and with people staying away from the area due to the oil on beaches, the Rena grounding is going to have a major economic repercussions.

Greenpeace has also announced they are backing Phil's claims there is a direct link between the Rena oil spill and plans to open New Zealand to deep sea oil.

Greenpeace climate campaigner Steve Abel says the Rena disaster is unfolding as a terrible reminder of the devastating impact oil spills can have on our wildlife, coastlines and livelihoods.

'The cost to our economy and livelihoods could amount to billions if a major oil spill struck our precious coastal waters and it's simply not worth the risk.”

In 2010, BP's Deepwater Horizon deep sea oil well disgorged 780 million litres of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in three months, devastating both wildlife and local fishing and tourism.

Steve says Greenpeace has been dealing with a surge of public interest in its‘No New Oil' petition following the Rena spill.