Oil from a ship stranded off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island is starting to reach the shore, damaging wildlife along the coast.
The first oil leaked from the ship has been found on nearby beaches and clean-up teams are working to clear the clumps of thick, toxic oil. Several seabirds have already died and around a dozen, including penguins, were recovered and are being treated for oil contamination.
The container ship, Rena, struck a reef in the Bay of Plenty on, Wednesday and it is now stranded around 12 nautical miles from Tauranga on the east coast of the North Island. It is carrying 1,700 tonnes of heavy fuel oil which has been transferred to secure tanks and is being pumped into a barge.
The vents of the ship have been sealed, but an estimated 30 tonnes of oil has already escaped.
The long, golden beaches along the east coast are regularly used for surfing and the area is a popular holiday resort, with an international reputation for big-game fishing.
Maritime New Zealand said the weather was about to get worse, making the clean-up operation more difficult.”Seas are moderate but they will become rough later, there will be poor visibility and we are expecting showers,” it said in a statement. “Salvage experts and naval architects on board are very closely monitoring the ship and have got sensors in place that will provide advance warning if the vessel’s structure is coming under too much stress,”
The company that owns the ship, Daina Shipping, said that limiting the effects of pollution is their immediate priority.
The Port of Tauranga, 200 km southeast of Auckland, is the country’s biggest export port and a hub for transhipping cargo.