Fresh oil has leaked from the stricken container ship Rena overnight, heading in a south-westerly direction towards Papamoa.
Maritime New Zealand deputy national on scene commander Alex van Wijngaarden estimates 130-350 tonnes of oil leaked overnight.
It is due to arrive on beaches from 9am tomorrow.
More oil is leaking from the stricken container ship Rena.
The leakage occurred when the ship moved due to crushing rock underneath the front part of the vessel.
Rena's list has also moved into a more upright position from an 11 degree list to a three to six degree list.
This puts the ship in a more upright position on Astrolabe Reef, providing a more level platform for the containers on board.
Pumping of fuel from Rena onto the Awanuia has stalled after the bunker barge suffered minor damage during pumping operations overnight.
Awanuia has returned to port for repairs and is unable to resume pumping due to poor weather conditions.
A clean up of Mount Maunganui beach will begin at 11am when it is low tide. Approximately 100 people will be involved and are being briefed on how to safely remove the oil from the beach.
Maritime NZ say it is likely oil will enter the harbour area and this cannot be prevented due to strong currents. More oil is also expected at Papamoa and Maketu.
The Navy is assisting in the removal of non-essential crew this morning.
Overnight, further good progress was made in transferring fuel to the rear of the ship, where it is less vulnerable to spilling and can be pumped off.
3 comments
Residents and help
Posted on 11-10-2011 09:58 | By Karenpr
Officials insist that the Mounties stay off the beaches - how about some training at the new Count down camp scheduled to add more free laboured caring hands on Boppers. How hard can it be to train people into handling the clean up - hopefully we not in for the worse but if this ends in a complete spill, we would have more trained "helpers" if we get all "upskilled". What does the special gear entail.... boots, jackets , masks, buckets .......???? and training!!!!! especially if this is going to take so called months to clean - dont you need all the help you can get....... how much intelligence does one need to help!
Residents and help
Posted on 11-10-2011 09:58 | By Karenpr
Officials insist that the Mounties stay off the beaches - how about some training at the new Count down camp scheduled to add more free laboured caring hands on Boppers. How hard can it be to train people into handling the clean up - hopefully we not in for the worse but if this ends in a complete spill, we would have more trained "helpers" if we get all "upskilled". What does the special gear entail.... boots, jackets , masks, buckets .......???? and training!!!!! especially if this is going to take so called months to clean - dont you need all the help you can get....... how much intelligence does one need to help!
Does it burn
Posted on 11-10-2011 13:16 | By dave4u
Will the oil catch fire if a blow torch fires at it ???? If so lets do it from the beach & watch it go out to the boat & blow the boat to bits & hey the council could organise a fan zone to watch it go up......yea rite!!!!
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