New Zealand Oil Spill

New Zealand Oil Spill

www.abc.net.au

Oil has started to wash ashore from the crippled container ship, Rena, which hit a reef in the pristine Bay of Plenty five days ago.

Recovery teams have been working to try to stabilise containers of fuel aboard the vessel ahead of strong winds and rough seas forecast to hit the area later today.

There are fears the rough conditions could see the ship break apart and sink.

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Earlier this year the ship was investigated while it was in Melbourne and Fremantle.

International Transport Workers Federation spokesman Matt Purcell says issues included the under-payment of its crew and complaints about the standard of water on board.

He says he is not surprised it is now having more problems, given the number of issues raised in Australia.

"The crew complained about the standard of fresh water aboard the vessel, there were problems with the crew's wages and conditions," he said.

"There was also some issues with excessive overtime that they were being made to work because of the age of the ship - there's a lot of maintenance to be done on the vessel - and I believe there were some problems in the engine room which I'm not privy to."

The 47,000-tonne container vessel ran aground off New Zealand's North Island last Wednesday.


VIDEO:
video.news.com.au...

Disgusting this stuff continues to happen!
They say that the danger isnt that high but you know the damage has already been done..The oceans are so close to tipping point its not funny.
We need to start using renewable resources before we completley destroy the world.


www.abc.net.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

That sucks.

It's pretty concerning how the corporations profiting off the oil are allowing their transport fleets to go into disrepair and are avoiding necessary upkeep/maintenance expenses.

With their record profits they should easily be able to afford upgrading their fleets.

My bad, turns out the Rena is a container ship, not an oil transport.

So the leak will hopefully not be anywhere near the scale of an actual full sized oil spill from a tanker.

Still though, the corporations who transport all of this cargo are making big $$$, and they should have invested a little more into upkeep/upgrades on these vessels.

I'm so #ed off by this!
They stood around for about 2 days scratching their heads wondering if anything would happen and now large amounts of oil washing up on the beach with dead birds and fish.

How, in this day and age, does a ship hit a reef with all the high tech GPS and sonar equipment these ships use??

Or is there something else to it such as..i dunno... insurance claims?

way too close to home from my liking....greed raises its ugly head again...sure they can afford to fix the boats etc,but that would affect the bottom line...just like the companies whom find it cheaper to dump their waste and pay the fine than it is to treat the waste properly....

peace

Originally posted by CelestialSon
I'm so #ed off by this!
They stood around for about 2 days scratching their heads wondering if anything would happen

Dunno where you got that from - they've been spraying it with dispersant and started pumping oil off it already

and now large amounts of oil washing up on the beach with dead birds and fish.

How, in this day and age, does a ship hit a reef with all the high tech GPS and sonar equipment these ships use??

Sonar would be of no help - the reef comes up from the bottom quite steeply and depth sonar would have given no warning to a big # at speed.

But there certainly is something strange about it hitting a well known reef at full speed & there's an investigation into who screwed up and why.

Originally posted by muzzleflash
My bad, turns out the Rena is a container ship, not an oil transport.

So the leak will hopefully not be anywhere near the scale of an actual full sized oil spill from a tanker.

Still though, the corporations who transport all of this cargo are making big $$$, and they should have invested a little more into upkeep/upgrades on these vessels.

The leak won't be as bad as a fully laden oil tanker, but it is worse than initially thought. Original reports thought that it was just hydraulic oil leaking, but they now know that one of the heavy fuel oil tanks has ruptured. The leak seemed to have slowed down, but it could get a lot worse as gale force winds and a fresh swell pick up from the Northeast, heading straight to the shore line of Mount Maunganui/Papamoa and Matakana Island.

I used to live on the beach at Mount Maunganui (known locally as "The Mount"), and it is sad to see this tragedy, even if it is not of the scale of some oil spills. The area is popular for its fishing and surfing, and just general fun in the sun, for people and creatures alike. Hopefully this mess is sorted before summer arrives here.

Regarding the condition of the boat, I can't understand how a modern ship can smash into such a well known and well documented reef. I suspect it will have more to do with human error than the state of the ship though. But I agree that they should be investing in the upkeep of these vessels.

On a more positive note, if anyone's interested, heres a little clip of some surf at Matakana Island

Also, if you want to check out a video made for protecting the local surf breaks in the area. Protect Matakana Island. Seems a little more relevant now, although this wreck shouldn't affect the waves too much.

They don't state the "owner" of the company who owns the ship.
I hope the investigations reveal who is accountable for such stupidity... not only sailing into the reef but to keep such a poorly shape ship on the waters... Big companies always cutting corners to save money. SMH.

reply to post by ShortMemory


I saw something yesterday regarding this but didnt want to read about it as i thought it would just pee me off again....

Another day... another spill!!

They just keep happening..... expect more dead sea creatures to show up onshore!

Salvage could take years - unsurprising given it is a big ship and New Zealand is a small country - I certainly hope the owners get the bill tho!


ISTR the ship is Liberia registered - so presumably hte owners are well enough known - as others have reported it has been inspected in Aus as well as NZ - where they checked the findings the Aussies had made had been fixed.

An oil spill from the stricken cargo ship off the coast of Tauranga has increased in size "several times over" due to a new breach in a main fuel tank.

Maritime New Zealand said between 130 and 350 tonnes of oil leaked out of the Rena this morning.

It had previously estimated a spill of between 20 and 30 tonnes.

A spokesman said the massive new spill meant oil was now spewing from a main fuel tank on the vessel.

Rena: New hole - oil pouring out

Unfortunately the leak has gotten a lot worse overnight. It was very stormy where I was in Auckland, so I'm not suprised that the ship has sustained further damage. There are already significant blobs of oil washing up in front of my old house along Arataki beach, in the Mount and along Matakana Island. I'd expect that there is quite a mess on the offshore Motiti Island too

By the sounds of it, the chemical dispersant Corexit will be tested, and possibly used more extensively if the oil flow is thicker. Does anyone know if there were any significant negative effects due to the use of Corexit during the Deepwater Horizon disaster? I would very much like to know before they start spraying this stuff more extensively. There is a lot of wildlife that live in the area surrounding the reef, which has some of the best fishing in NZ.

It has just been reported on the news here that the Rena has shifted again, and is now at an increased list of 15 degrees. It was orignally at around 12 degrees, but seemed to have straightened to about 5 degrees during the storm overnight. It is yet to be seen if the increased list will have any serious impact on the structural integrity of the ship, or the cargo it is carrying.

Speaking of the cargo, there are a few nasty containers onboard. There is already at least one container washed overboard, but it does not appear to pose any risk at this stage. Hopefully none of these get loose.

Eight containers on the ship contain hazardous materials.

Four contain ferrosilicone, which produces a flammable gas when it touches water, and the others contain chemicals including a load of hydrogen peroxide.

"There is a possibility that containers will head off the ship because of the seas and the weather," Joyce said last night.

(source from the article linked by Aloysius the Gaul above).

I have just heard from a local in the area that Rena has tipped over, and many of the containers have fallen off!! This could make matters far far worse for the clean up operation. It hasn't been on any news yet, so I will wait to see if this report is accurate. I hope it is not, but I fear that it is.

reply to post by ShortMemory


This is devistating guys! Im a hard man but this $** makes me want to cry.
Anyone who has been to the mount or any of the surrounding area knows how speial and magical this place is. It

2010 Deepwater Horizon
2010 Great Barrier Reef oil, AUS
2011 Tauranga oil spill, NZ


 New Zealand, Tauranga, Bay of Plenty
Spilled (min tonnes): 150
Spilled (max tonnes): 350
October 5, 2011 to present

 United States, Gulf of Mexico
Spilled (min tonnes):70
Spilled (max tonnes):109
September 16, 2004 to present

It is discusting this distruction continues for the sake of profit

When will the oil companies be prosecuted for their crimes?

Originally posted by revman28
When will the oil companies be prosecuted for their crimes?

The Rena was a cargo ship, not an oil tanker. It used heavy fuel oil for propulsion, so is not directly tied to an oil company. I'm not trying to defend oil companies, but they played no role in this tragedy other than supply fuel for the ship. The main fault lies with those operating the ship, and they have been prosecuted. It is likely the NZ government will seek to recover the clean up costs from the company who owned the ship, although NZ maritime laws currently cap the amount of money that can be recovered at $14 million.

The cost of the clean up is yet to be fully determined, but I don't think $14 million will cut it. The situation has significantly worsened since the first few days, as major cracks have formed in the ships hull, and experts believe it's only a matter of time before the ship breaks up. The oil slick on the beach has significantly worsened today, especially on Papamoa beach. Already hundreds of dead birds have been retrieved, with many more expected on the shore line. Containers and their contents are also washing up on the beach, as at least 80 have fallen off the ship.

I used to swim/surf/fish in the water off Mount Maunganui every day in Summer, and at least once a week through winter, and I know plenty of other people who do the same. This has affected not just their beach, but their way of life. I feel a mix of anger and sadness whenever I think about this tragedy, and it doesn't look like it will be getting better any time soon.


Some news links
Rena threatens to break in two
Second Rena crewman charged
Rena oil crisis worsens (pics)
Rena oil spill: Latest updates

reply to post by muzzleflash


If they maintained their fleet properly they wouldn't get to use Corexit to poison the waters of the world and destroy all sea-life and the humans who go and clean it all up who then get sick and die. This is an orchestrated operation done purposefully to poison the waters of the southern hemisphere, like what they have already done in the northern hemisphere. Corexit is a highly toxic poison, that is why it is being used, even though it has been banned in several countries globally. Research who has the higest shares in the Corexit poison, who is the CEO behind the pharmaceutical company who creates this poison. Our waters and air of the world are all being sytematically poisoned, captains being paid off to purposefully 'run aground' on different reefs all over the world, so the Corexit can be used to pollute the waters and air.

reply to post by kiwitina948

I strongly dislike the use of Corexit in our waters, especially so close to the shore. But I must say I don't agree with your theory on this being intentionally done just so they can use Corexit. First off, it was a cargo ship, not an oil tanker so has far less oil on board than other ships, making it a less than ideal target for intentional Corexit use. Secondly, if someone wanted to poison the waters, why would they need a well publicized event to do it? They could just do it covertly and dump much, much more than they currently do.

If this was done intentionally, I think it would be far more likely to be due to insurance purposes rather than an attempt to "poison the waters of the southern hemisphere".

The Rena is covered for up to $5 billion in insurance claims - with up to a fifth of that set aside for pollution liability.

Owners of the Rena, Costamare Inc., are part of the world's biggest group of ship insurers and have organised substantial legal cover for the ship's captain and ship.

The ship is insured for up to $5 billion in insurance claims, yet the maximum we can claim in damage costs is about $12.1 million. That seems like way too high an incentive for my liking, especially if the ship has problems that need fixing. I'm not saying that this is definitely, or even probably the reason for this disaster. But I think it is far more likely than an attempt to poison the world.

Im annoyed about it sooo much, they closed my beach down Pukehina too. Signs everywhere. Environment B.O.P people looking for dead birds, on their quad bikes, when it tells us locals not to go down the beach on any motorized vehicle.
No fishing, no this, no that... Bla bla bla.
Hopefully they can get the rest of the oil off before the Rena snaps in half.

Its really windy today, but theyre still pumping oil though. Its pathetic the amount of time it took before they started to take action, same as with the Pike River mine.
Maunganui locals were at the Mount (Mt. Maunganui) trying to clean some of the oil up, but officials were telling them leave it your just spreading it further.

So far its cost 4mill to clean up and pump oil of the Rena, the Company owner gave Tauranga 1mill. More experts have been put on the ship today.

But, if any containers wash up on my beach they cant expect me not to go see whats in them.

They reckon its going to be over by the xmas holidays. It better be, or there are going to be alot of pissed off locals.