When was the bay of plenty oil spill

Production 4. Ongoing monitoring 5. Crisis management 6. MV Rena Rena was carrying 1, containers and 1, tonnes of heavy fuel oil when it struck the Astrolabe Reef and grounded. Significant amounts of oil leaked into the environment after conditions deteriorated. A worker negotiates his way around thick oil, which washed up on beaches. Unfavorable conditions led to the loss of cargo, much of which washed up ashore.

See the Rena gallery. Back to index. Return to the index for spill response case studies. But there are marine environments where governments should be able to take a more muscular approach to limit the risk of casualties even further. Here, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority administers a system of compulsory pilotage, requiring ships to take on board expert navigators familiar with local conditions. However, we have recently learned from diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks that the compulsory pilotage scheme has been wound back in face of protest from Singapore and the United States that the scheme infringes navigational freedoms.

The causes of the Rena disaster are yet to be determined. But the incident does demonstrate in general terms that now is not the time to reverse the trend towards stricter maritime safety standards in sensitive marine environments. While the risk of maritime casualties can never be eliminated, the dice can be loaded against disaster through schemes such as that pilotage rules in the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait. Australia and New Zealand need to take the initiative and introduce stronger marine pollution rules.

But more than that, we will have to stare down attempts by major maritime powers to stymie those innovative developments. We respond when the spill exceeds the clean-up capability of the person responsible for spilling the oil, or where the person responsible for spilling the oil cannot be identified. In these situations, the Regional On Scene Commander assumes responsibility for the control and management of the oil spill clean-up operation.

Under the Maritime Transport Act , all regional councils must have a regional oil spill contingency plan and ensure it is regularly tested. Regional Councils are also required to maintain a trained response team, including wildlife response specialists.

This spill was classed as tier two, the spokesman said, and the council advised Maritime New Zealand so if the spill became bigger, support from other areas was available. Under the Maritime Transport Act the polluter pays all costs from an oil spill response and subsequent clean up. Weather Tauranga Rotorua Whakatane.