Published 13 years ago, updated 5 years ago

MARITIME NZ PUBLIC UPDATE AND ADVISORY: RENA DISASTER

14 October 2011

Maritime NZ, on Friday 14 October, issued a media release/public notice in regard to the Rena Disaster updating on the situation and containing public information relating to the environmental disaster. Read about it on www.marinebusiness-world.com.

NEW ZEALAND: RENA DISASTER UPDATE

Posted 12 October 2011

As reported by www.Sail-World.com

Stricken ship’s Master arrested as containers topple in Rena Disaster

There have been two significant developments in the Rena Disaster.

Seventy containers have fallen off the ship overnight as she continues to be pounded by 4-5 metre seas off Tauranga. More expected to come off as the adverse weather continues. The containers stacked in the stern, which have broken free were earlier said to be empty.

The Rena’s Master has been arrested and appeared in the Tauranga District Court at 1000hrs, Wednesday morning (NZT)

A statement issued this morning by Maritime NZ reads:

The Master of the vessel Rena has been arrested and charged by Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) under section 65 of the Maritime Transport Act (MTA) 1994, “for operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk”.

He will appear in the Tauranga District Court this morning (Wednesday 12 October).

One s65 MTA charge has been laid, but it is likely more charges may follow.

The s65 charge carries a maximum penalty of $10,000, or a maximum term of imprisonment of 12 months.

MNZ will make no further comment while the matter is before the courts.

There is no further information on more oil release, after 350 tonnes were reported to have been released yesterday.

According to Predictwind, the winds will increase today, Wednesday, before easing, however the large swells will stay in until Thursday before easing slightly. The incident has been declared to be the biggest maritime environmental disaster in NZ’s history. Outflow of oil increased tenfold today with up to 350 tonnes being released from the ship.

In an earlier release, Maritime NZ advised that shipping had been re-routed.

Approximately 70 containers have come off the Rena and are now in the water.

It is highly likely that more will come off due to the current severe weather conditions and the vessel’s heavy list.

Once an aerial survey is completed, there will be a clearer picture of exactly how many containers have come adrift. This aerial survey will go ahead today once the weather has cleared and the sea conditions have improved.

There are 1368 containers on board. Eleven containers containing hazardous substances are still on the vessel and are not among the 70 estimated overboard.

Navigational warnings have been issued to mariners and major shipping has been re-routed.

Containers are likely to wash up on the beaches and if you see any, please call 0800 OIL SPILL (645 774).

The contents of the containers remain the property of the owners. It is an offense to take any property from the containers and anyone doing so can expect to be prosecuted.

Last Wednesday the 236 metre container ship, Rena, hit the Astrolabe Reef just off Tauranga harbour New Zealand. She was traveling at 17 knots when she hit the well-known reef at 2.20am.

She has stuck fast with her bow in the reef. A massive salvage operation is getting underway some five days after the incident.

Rena has 1700 tonnes of fuel oil aboard and if this is released into the pristine coastal area it will be the most serious environmental disaster in New Zealand’s history.

After the first day of a storm onshore seas have caused the Rena to shift, and come more upright. While the authorities claim that this is a result of rock crushing below her bow, it may also be further crushing of the ships hull – depending on which is the more sacrificial surface. As expected more oil was released from either cracked bow tanks (which are being pumped aft) or from the keel duct which contains 100 tonnes of oil which cannot be accessed by the salvage team.

The amount of oil now released (370 tonnes) exceeds the amount previously stated to be in the keel duct, indicating that a fuel tank may have been ruptured.

It was stated this morning that bringing a floating crane from Singapore to offload containers would take a month. There is no crane in NZ with sufficient height to get to the top of the container stack. It would seem that Mother Nature is doing what Man cannot.

The salvage team has now set up a permanent base in a vacant supermarket, with about 200 people on site on a single floor, with the expectation that this recovery operation will take several months, rather than weeks.

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World

NEW ZEALAND FEARS OIL SLICK

Posted 7 October 2011

As reported by www.news24.com

Wellington – New Zealand said it was preparing for an environmental disaster on Friday as a container ship stranded off the North Island threatened to break up and spill oil into the pristine Bay of Plenty.

The 47 000 ton container vessel “Rena”, which hit a reef off the coast of Tauranga earlier this week, has already created an oil slick more than 5km long that has killed a number of seabirds.

But the pollution would be far worse if the ship broke up on the Astrolabe Reef, releasing the 1 700 tons of heavy fuel oil onboard into a marine environment that is home to whales, dolphins, seals, and penguins.

Environment Minister Nick Smith told Fairfax Media the accident “has the potential to be New Zealand’s most significant maritime pollution disaster in decades”.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce said salvage teams were scrambling to remove oil from the stricken vessel to protect the Bay of Plenty, one of the country’s top tourist destinations.

Dispersants

“The difficulty is that the situation is deteriorating and according to the advice I’ve received, there’s the possibility it could break up and sink,” Joyce told the New Zealand Herald.

“It’s certainly serious, what’s going on there. They’re certainly moving as fast as they can. It’s been a bit frustrating for everybody in terms of getting the right equipment to achieve the removal of the oil and containers.”

Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) said it was preparing for the possibility the existing oil slick would hit the coast in the coming days after dispersants sprayed from aircraft proved ineffective.

“It has the potential to be very, very serious indeed simply because of the age of the ship, the damage that she’s sustained and the 1 700 tons of heavy fuel oil on board,” MNZ pollution response manager Andrew Berry told Radio New Zealand.

The weather in the Bay of Plenty is forecast to deteriorate early next week, giving added urgency to efforts to remove the oil in case the ship breaks apart in heavy swells.

“The worst-case scenario is a significant shoreline impact, which is why we have teams on standby,” MNZ on-site controller Rob Service said.

The agency found four dead birds in the slick on Thursday and dispatched wildlife rescue teams on Friday to scour Bay of Plenty beaches looking for oil-covered animals and birds.

Rescue centres

It said two wildlife rescue centres had been set up, but could not confirm reports that seals had been seen covered in oil.

Animal welfare group Forest and Bird said species of marine birdlife at risk from the spill included blue penguins, shearwaters, gannets, and petrels.

The group’s seabird specialist, Karen Baird, said the timing of the accident, in the midst of breeding season, was “disastrous”.

“Many of them are sitting on eggs and some of them have got chicks that are starting to hatch, so that’s a big worry for us,” she told 3News.

It is not known why the ship ran aground in the early hours of Wednesday morning. None of the 25-man crew was injured in the accident