Environmental disaster averted in New Zealand

The announcement by Maritime New Zealand that most oil had been successfully pumped off came as a relief, since container ship Rena had threatened to break up while teetering on a reef off the coast of New Zealand since Oct. 5.

Wind, waves and weather had hindered efforts to get at the heavy fuel oil. About 390 tons leaked off the ship; the agency was able to pump off around 1,450 tons.

Commander Mick Courtnell Salvage called the moment a "milestone," and described the atmosphere among the oil response team as relieved.

About 66 tons of oil remain mixed with water in the ship's fuel tank. Efforts will now turn to unloading the more than 1,300 containers still on the freighter, including 10 containers with hazardous goods.

A crane barge was positioned next to the Rena today, and the marine agency expects unloading to begin within the next few days. The agency stated that one of the main challenges is how to decouple the containers, "given the difficult lean of the ship."

Another, larger crane barge is on its way from Singapore to assist in the unloading, probably by early December.

The cranes will lift containers off the ship, at a rate of about six per day – a pace could take the effort far into next year.

Rena's Filipino captain and second officer still face charges for reckless piloting. Nick Smith, New Zealand's environmental minister, claims the ship hit the reef while seeking a shortcut to port.

Maritime New Zealand also said that shoreline teams had successfully removed most oil that has washed up on nearby beaches.

Aside from manually sifting through beach sand, cleanup teams have used surf-washing and beach-cleaning machinery to remove stubborn patches of oil.

A bird patrol yesterday turned up only one oiled little blue penguin of 65 seabirds checked in their burrows.

Beaches in the Bay of Plenty are expected to reopen soon.

Author: Sonya Angelica Diehn (dpa, tvnz)
Editor: Anke Rasper