Environment

New Zealand Oil Spill: Rena Stranded off Tauranga (Pics, Video)

by NowPublic Staff | October 13, 2011 at 02:27 pm

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Rena Stranded in Bay of Plenty: New Zealand's Biggest Oil Spill

The Rena, an cargo ship owned by Costamare Shipping Company, ran aground on Astrolabe Reef on October 5. Five days later, oil began washing up on Tauranga Beach. So far, the Rena has spilled over 350 tons of fuel into the sea so far, as well as dropping 88 containers of alkyl sulfonic acid into the water, only a few of which have been salvaged. As of October 15, there are approximately 1,300 tonnes of oil still aboard the Rena.

Around 1,000 sea birds have been killed in the oil slick.

Rena Stranding: Tauranga Cleanup Effort Live Updates

This is New Zealand's worst maritime environmental disaster, and residents are furious at the slow pace of the cleanup and containment efforts. The government has been thrown in to a tizzy of finger-pointing, even as over 4,200 volunteers signed up to clean up the oil-choked beaches. If you can't volunteer in person, you can knit sweaters for oil-slicked penguins.

Salvage teams are still trying to manage the breakup of the heavily-damaged ship. You can see photos and video of the stricken ship, as well as the cleanup effort, below.

6 See all footage | View Slideshow

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Birds Flight (not verified)

at 00:50 on November 14th, 2011

New Zealand is a home for endangered birds and such contamination can be disastrous for them. The only thing that inspire me about New Zealand is the kiwi bird and I cannot just stop myself from watching kiwi bird pictures and videos over the internet.I wish they were also found in our country.