TAURANGA, NEW ZEALAND - OCTOBER 9: An oil slick is seen coming from the grounded vessel Rena, on October 9, 2011 in Tauranga, New Zealand. The 47,000 tonne Rena, a Liberan container vessel, struck a reef on Wednesday causing an oil leak that has spread over five kilometres. Authorities are preparing for the worst environmental disaster in New Zealand history should the vessel break up and spill 1,700 tonnes of fuel into the Bay of Plenty. Ross Brown / SUNLIVE New Zealand / Getty Images

October 20 (NZN) – With a new booster pump in place, salvage experts will remain on board the stricken vessel Rena overnight to keep extracting oil from the ship. The operation hit a hiccup earlier on Thursday when the original booster pump’s circuits blew. Salvage unit manager Bruce Anderson says the setback didn’t stop the operation. “The salvors have contingency upon contingency for situations like these. A backup booster pump has been brought in and the existing pump will have the circuit repaired.” Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) says 11 tonnes of oil had been pumped off the Rena by 4.10pm, adding to the 90 tonnes of oil removed before storms forced salvors to abandon the ship on Monday. Another 1200 tonnes remain on board, while an estimated 350 tonnes had spilled into waters off the Bay of Plenty coast since the ship grounded on the Astrolabe Reef on October 5. […] The Wildlife Response Unit on Thursday established a new unit in Te Kaha which could take in 100 animals, while the Oiled Wildlife Response Unit in Te Maunga has 288 birds in its care. The rate of dead animals arriving at the centre is declining, with 1323 found dead to date. Shoreline clean-up work continued on Thursday, with 800 bags of oiled waste collected around Maketu Spit. […]

Rena oil pumping to continue overnight