Tonnes of oil leak from ship aground off New Zealand

[tawadi]

Source: BBC

Tonnes of oil leak from ship aground off New Zealand

8 October 2011 Last updated at 10:45 ET

Several tonnes of oil have leaked from a cargo ship which has run aground close to one of New Zealand's top tourist destinations, officials say.

The maritime authorities in New Zealand believe at least 10 tonnes of oil have already seeped from the Rena.

This has created a 5km-long (3 miles) oil slick from the 47,000-tonne container ship.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15226442

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[MADem]

1. Oh dear. Get out the deepwater boom, the P250 pumps, the absorbent matting, and .

the Dawn dishwashing detergent. It's heavy oil, too, the kind that makes tarballs.

They need to get someone over there to pump out what remains in the ship, ASAP, then tow the thing to safe harbor for repair or shitcanning.

Ugh. Mess.

Poor maritime wildlife.

Wonder who was asleep at the wheel? It's either that, or mechanical failure. Probably not hard to figure out which, either.

[glinda]

2. I keep saying "intentional". The intent is to destroy what we aim to protect.

[MADem]

3. I think in the case of this incident, there was a ton of stupidity, a heaping help of greed,

and a great big load of "Maintenance? Who needs maintenance?" to go along with some piss poor training and safety standards, and very possibly lousy crew discipline.

That's just a guess, though. My guess is based on the flag of registry of the vessel in question.

[tawadi]

4. Greed is the key word here

Greed and no conscience.

[Supersedeas]

5. The Oil Industry doen't need your stinking regulations--just give them their Tax Loopholes

That's what Repukes do.

[kentauros]

7. It's a very good guess:

Stricken ship's safety issues revealed

By Isaac Davison and Jamie Morton
5:30 AM Tuesday Oct 11, 2011

Safety issues dogged the stricken container ship spewing oil into the Bay of Plenty as far back as July, it was revealed yesterday.

The Rena was detained in Australia that month, and 12 days ago it was warned about problems with its safety record during an inspection in Bluff.

Maritime New Zealand said authorities found the Rena's safety checklist was not working effectively.

This meant mechanical failures, some of which led to the Rena's detention in Australia, were not picked up.

(more at link)

[tawadi]

6. NZ oil spill affects more beaches

FIST-sized "patties" of oil from the shipwrecked Rena are washing up on multiple New Zealand beaches, with more contamination expected overnight.

Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) has repeated its warnings for residents to stay away from affected areas.

"Oil has now been found on beaches from Mount Maunganui to Girven Road and on the southern end of Matakana Island," says MNZ spokesman Ross Henderson.

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/nz-oil-spill-affects-more-beaches/story-e6frfku0-1226163340864