NZ public fuming over leaking container ship

by Container Ship Rena on 2011-10-07 06:38:00

At 2am on Wednesday morning the Container Ship Rena, embedded itself on a reef near Tauranga in New Zealand.

At that time Maritime New Zealand kicked into action and as you would expect the situation was way over the heads of local officials.

Three Days on, the 236 meter vessel has started to leak oil and the container ship is in danger of breaking up. Last night a chemical was being used to disperse the 5km oil slick however latest reports indicate that the chemicals are having no effect.

The Rena has 1700 Tonnes of oil on board, it is not known how much oil has leaked into the sea, reports are coming back that some wildlife has turned up on the shore covered with oil.

As you would expect the New Zealand public is fuming, tempers are rising and the public is demanding answers. It is still not known how the container ship ended up on the reef in the first place.

Spokeswoman Sophie Hazlehurst told a local paper that planning for the salvage would be a slow and steady process.

"The salvage company is now working through a process. That's going to take some time. That's good by us - the last thing we want is for them to move too quickly and rush this.

Well in my opinion that’s not good enough, while they work through their process, oil is hemorrhaging from the ship.

As I write this blog post I have just received a press release from the Ports of Auckland to say they are sending a Tug Boat to assist in the salvage, the Tug Boat will arrive early Sunday morning.

Although I am sure authorities are doing all they can to prevent a major environmental disaster they must be upfront with the New Zealand public, early indications are that this situation is not being handled well.

Nigel Lewis
CEO – Global Logistics Media
www.globallogisticsmedia.com