Dutch help clean up NZ oil spill

RNW, 10 October 2011

A container ship which ran onto a reef off the coast of New Zealand is no longer leaking oil. Cor Radings, spokesman for the partly Dutch-based company Svitzer Salvage says they will start on Tuesday cleaning up the oil spilled in the Bay of Plenty, an important habitat for dolphins, whales, penguins and seals.

“On Sunday we began pumping the fuel to a tanker moored nearby, until the weather conditions forced a temporary halt. We’re also preparing to remove the containers, although the angle of the ship will make it difficult. ”

Svitzer Salvage is leading an operation involving 250 specialists from Australia, Great Britain, Singapore and the Netherlands, with 300 New Zealand servicemen standing by.

It’s not clear how the Rena, A Greek ship sailing under a Liberian flag, ran aground in fine weather on a reef clearly marked on all charts. It can’t be moved until the containers have been removed and even then it could still break up and leak more oil.

So far the environmental damage has not been as bad as was feared, with only a few seabirds and penguins covered in oil.

The New Zealand authorities say they will investigate all aspects of the case, including possible alcohol use by the crew.

In this photo provided by Maritime New Zealand, shipping containers float 

Wednesday, in the water around the cargo ship Rena that has been foundering

 since it ran aground Oct. 5 on the Astrolabe Reef, about 14 miles (22 kilometers) 

from Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand. The condition of the stricken cargo ship

 stuck that is leaking oil worsened Wednesday, with about 70 containers falling 

overboard and the vessel moving onto a steeper lean.

(AP/Maritime New Zealand, Blair Harkness)

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