A huge wave slams into the starboard side of the Rena, weakening further her already cracked hull. The cargo ship Rena is stuck on the Astrolabe Reef off the coast of Tauranga. Katie Cox / nzherald.co.nz

By Derek Cheng, James Ihaka, Jamie Morton, and Paul Harper
18 October 2011 Salvage workers are bracing for the death of the “creaking, groaning” MV Rena, now sitting precariously on Astrolabe Reef and expected to flood more oil into the sea. The same pancake-sized blobs of oil that have blotted the Western Bay of Plenty coastline were found at White Island yesterday and are expected to arrive at East Cape by Saturday. Last night, the crippled 47,000 tonne container ship was threatening to break apart on the reef amid a fresh bout of bad weather bringing large swells. The poor weather forced salvors to cease the pumping of oil from the vessel at 11.30pm last night, however staff remain on board undertaking other necessary tasks. The poor weather has also forced Maritime New Zealand to call off efforts to clean the oil from beaches around Mount Manganui. […] MNZ salvage unit head Andrew Berry said plans are in place to begin using a booster pump bought in yesterday, which will hopefully help speed up the pumping process, although this will depend on the weather conditions. “Every drop of oil that we can get off the Rena is one less drop that potentially can end up in the environment, but given the huge range of variables that can affect operations, it’s going to be a long, slow process. “The ship is stable and remains in the same condition as it was yesterday – with cracks down each side but is still together in one piece,” Mr Berry said. […] So far 88 containers have fallen off the vessel, although it is not known how many may have sunk. No further containers fell off the ship overnight. The Wildlife Centre reports 207 live birds are now in care, as well as three seals, while 1,290 dead birds and four dead animals have been recovered. MNZ salvage unit manager Bruce Anderson said there was some oil not contained in the vessel’s fuel tanks which was expected to have spilled last night. Much more could spew out if the Rena was dislodged. “If the vessel falls off the reef it could puncture a tank,” Mr Anderson said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen if it falls off the reef.” One tank at the stern of the Rena contains about 700 tonnes of oil and a tank at the rear starboard side contains another 300 tonnes. […] Transport Minister Steven Joyce said he did not rate the chances of salvors finishing the job before the ship broke apart. The prow of the Rena is settled on the reef, but its rear was hanging over by about 60m. […]

Rena oil spill: 4m swells batter ship The cargo ship Rena is stuck on the Astrolabe Reef off the coast of Tauranga. Katie Cox / nzherald.co.nz

October 18, 2011 (AAP) – Worsening weather has forced a salvage team to halt efforts to pump fuel oil from the stricken ship Rena off New Zealand’s east coast. Just over 70 tonnes of fuel oil has been pumped from the vessel to the barge Awanuia since Sunday night and the salvage team had planned to keep going through last night. However, pumping stopped about 11pm (9pm AEDT) yesterday and would not resume until the weather improved, a Maritime New Zealand spokesman said. The stern of the ship, listing at about 20 degrees, is precariously placed on the reef off Tauranga and the chances of getting all the 1300 tonnes of fuel oil off are looking increasingly unlikely. It’s almost two weeks since the 47,000-tonne container ship ran aground on the Astrolabe reef, 12 nautical miles off Tauranga, and began spilling hundreds of tonnes of fuel oil into the ocean which has washed up on Bay of Plenty beaches. Svitzer Salvage spokesman Matt Watson says the Rena could break up in rough weather, potentially spilling the entire load into the sea.

Rena pumping called off as weather worsens