Police are patrolling Western Bay of Plenty beaches reminding people of the restrictions put in place by Maritime New Zealand while clean up operations take place.

People are being asked to stay off beaches and if they want to volunteer, to register via the appropriate channels.

Police will be patrolling Western Bay of Plenty beaches while response teams remove oil and container contents.

The officer managing the Police support to Maritime NZ, Inspector Karl Wright-St Clair says police will continue to have a visible presence around the beachfront areas.

'This is to provide reassurance to members of the community, as well as to provide support to Maritime NZ and oil spill response activities.

'Maritime NZ have restricted access to the beach areas from Mt Maunganui to Maketu Point, including the Maketu Estuary. This is to enable the oil spill response activities to take place, whilst also being mindful of people's safety.”

Police will be patrolling the beach to make sure the public is safe and Karl says that will continue throughout the operation.

'We're asking people to respect the restricted access so that Maritime NZ and others can do their job. We will be advising people of the restriction and asking them to leave the area.”

Police are also reiterating their message to the public not to interfere with any shipping containers that have and will wash ashore.

People are being asked to notify authorities by calling 0800 OIL SPILL if they locate any containers so they can be assessed by Police and the Fire Services.

Karl says the containers remain the property of the original owners or insurers.

'People should not attempt to open any of the containers, as some of them may contain hazardous material.”

He says it is also and offence to attempt to open or retrieve any of the containers and anyone found attempting to interfere with the containers will be dealt with by Police.