AAP October 11, 2011 7:41AM reports
Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) says the Rena was listing about 11 degrees on the reef but that has improved overnight to a more upright position.
It's believed the rock pinnacle the ship was resting on has been crushed, but the ship remains stable.
The barge Awanuia that was taking on the grounded ship's oil has itself been damaged, and has returned to port for repairs before it can continue pumping.
Meanwhile, MNZ says it could take years to salvage the Rena.
Director Catherine Taylor spoke to more than 100 people at Waikari marae in Mt Maunganui last night, and said it would take several months to remove the 2000 containers from the vessel, which may remain on the reef for years, Fairfax Media reported.
The ship's been revealed to have had a number of deficiencies before it arrived in New Zealand - and it was temporarily detained in Australia.
The Maritime Union has demanded the release of official reports about the ship, saying it understands MNZ found deficiencies with the ship - including its charts, maintenance and engines - when it was inspected in Bluff in September.
Transport Minister Steven Joyce told Fairfax Media the ship had been inspected in China in July, and later by officials in Fremantle, Australia.
"In this case, the inspection in China said there were some deficiencies. A dozen of them had to be rectified before the ship left and the other six had to be rectified within two weeks," Mr Joyce said.
"So that was passed on to the next port of call, which was Fremantle, and that raised some additional deficiencies."
LATER
AAP October 11, 2011 11:02AM
A CONTAINER ship stuck on a reef off New Zealand issued a mayday today after sustaining damage in heavy seas and spilling "significant'' new amounts of oil, Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) said.
Nearby ships, including six navy vessels, scrambled to evacuate a 36-man salvage crew from the crippled Rena, which shifted position on the reef it hit last Wednesday after being pounded by 5m swells overnight.
Maritime New Zealand said the vessel had spewed an additional 130 to 350 tonnes of oil into the Bay of Plenty, far more than the initial spill of 20 tonnes, which has already fouled beaches in the environmentally sensitive area.
"The ship has sustained some damage from current movements and there is a significant amount of oil leaking from the vessel,'' it said.
"This is estimated at 130-350 tonnes from the overflight at first light today.''
Officials have warned New Zealand faces its worst maritime pollution disaster in decades if the Rena breaks up on the reef, releasing all 1700 tonnes of heavy fuel oil aboard into the bay.
MNZ director Catherine Taylor said the Liberian-flagged vessel appeared stable but added "the weather forecast is not good''.
"Things are changing all the time, the weather has not worked for us, it's worked against us and we're being precautionary and ensuring we keep people safe first,'' she said.
MNZ said the ship sustained further damage to the front of its hull in the rough seas and additional flooding in its forward holds, but it said this might help to stabilise the ship, which had been moving around on the reef.
"They're not thinking that the vessel is going to break up at this time. They're aware it's resettling into a new equilibrium,'' MNZ salvage unit manage Bruce Anderson told reporters.
Covers have been installed on the ship's fuel tanks in an attempt to limit leakage if the Rena ends up on the sea bed.
The drama at the Rena accident site, 22km offshore, came as clean-up efforts began on Bay of Plenty beaches, where blobs of tar-like oil that locals said resembled "black jellyfish'' began to wash up yesterday.
Taylor said more oil was expected to leak from the vessel and further shoreline pollution was inevitable.
The spill has already killed a number of sea birds, with seven Little Blue penguins and two shags receiving treatment at wildlife rescue centres after being found covered in oil.
Locals, who have criticised the speed of the oil spill response, said they had seen large numbers of dead birds and fish on beaches.
Authorities have warned residents to stay away from the viscous sludge, describing it as toxic, but many have ignored the advice and formed their own clean-up teams, donning rubber gloves and shovelling the oil into plastic bags.
Some 250 people, including specialists from Australia, Britain, Holland and Singapore, have joined the oil slick response team, with 300 defence personnel on standby and expected to help with the shoreline clean-up.
Transport Minister Steven Joyce said yesterday that oil could wash up on the coast for weeks.
AFP
Topic: Containership "Rena" aground on reef near Port of Tauranga (Read 37640 times)