AUCKLAND: At approximately Wednesday morning, ship Rena struck Astrolabe Reef, 22 kilometers off Tauranga coast carrying 1700 cubic meters of heavy fuel oil and 70 cubic metres of marine diesel. Renny van der Velde, incident controller at Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) says, “we've activated our national oil response team, they are now in Tauranga. They are working in collaboration with the Bay of Plenty regional council; we have approximately 35 people there.” Pre-emptive planning is taking place by the oil spill response team to form a safety net in the case of a spillage. Fuel tanks are being transferred from the listing portside to starboard as a security measure. Wildlife experts are preparing contingency plans to manage any risk to wildlife. “While the aim is to remove the vessel with no oil spilled, it is important to have contingency plans in place in case something goes wrong,” said Velde. Experts say it could take week or even months before ship Rena will be able to float off the reef. Ship Rena is charted by the Mediterranean Shipping Company from its Greek owner and had been doing a coastal run loaded with containers of timber, diary and other goods when it struck the reef. Phil Abraham, New Zealand General Manager for Mediterranean Shipping Company explained that if the boat can't be drawn off the reef, a floating crane will be required to discharge the cargo. BM
