Pumping of oil from the stricken container ship Rena continued overnight with salvors managing to transfer 60 tonnes from Rena onto the tanker Awanuia.

Maritime New Zealand salvage unit manager Bruce Anderson says pumping is making slow but steady progress, with a total of 150 tonnes being pumped from Rena since it ran aground on Wednesday, October 5.

Pumping of oil from the Rena wreck continued overnight with 60 tonnes being transferred to the barge vessel Awanuia. Beach clean-up teams will be working on Mount Maunganui, Papamoa, Maketu and Waihau Bay beaches today.

There is estimated to be 1200 tonnes of oil still on board the Rena.

'The overnight crew will be replaced this morning and pumping will continue today.

'The salvage crew also intends to do sounding tests on the tanks which will provide us with a more precise figure of how much oil remains.”

Bruce says the wind is forecast to increase later today, but conditions are good this morning.

'We will continue to monitor the weather to ensure the salvage operation is safe. However, we will take advantage of the good weather while we can.

'The good news is the forecast is for fine weather for the rest of the weekend.”

The Wildlife Response Unit has established a staging unit in Te Kaha with capacity to take in 100 animals, after oil covered container debris began washing up there on Wednesday, October 19.

MNZ National On Scene Commander Alex van Wijngaarden says shoreline clean-up work will continue today, volunteer network will focus on clean-ups at the Mount Maunganui mainbeach and Papamoa today. Clean-up teams will also be assisting iwi at Maketu and Waihau Bay.

'We are seeing a lot of debris from the containers washing up in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
'We have deployed a significant amount of equipment, along with shoreline clean-up specialists to lead volunteers there.”

Alex says small amounts of oil are continuing to wash up along the beach at Mount Maunganui and Papamoa and the team will continue to clean and re-clean the area during the weekend.

'We're aware that some oil is mobilising on the surf line from the sand around Mount Maunganui and Papamoa. Because of this, we will keep the beaches closed in the interest of public safety.”

Mount Maunganui mainbeach will remain open for public access, but not for swimming.
Shoreline clean-up assessment teams confirmed earlier reports of oiling at Whakatane Spit and Ohope Beach are incorrect.