Charismatic

Link

How did they sail into a reef then? Did they not have a depth sounder, GPS or navigational charts? I hope we can send them the bill for all of this.

Am Loolah

This is unfolding to be quite a nightmare for those of us living in the Bay. And there's much criticism for what seems like a very slow reaction, although that could be for reasons unknown to us mere bystanders.

But the reef is a marine, ecological hotbed and our pristine beaches have now been affected by oil. Birds/penguins and sea life already being washed up dead.

Not good however you look at it.

The rumour mill is the captain was asleep ... who knows?

Link here.

j19fmm

Been watching this with a very heavy heart. I hope the area copes and gets all the help it needs

RobClubley

This is not good
Another disaster to clean up!

Plus we'll be in Tauranga for a couple of nights next week staying near the Mount. No paddling for us!

Charismatic

Top news storry on bbc at the moment: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/

'parantly 's bigger than they first thought.

Stormer999

The big tanker disasters in UK waters (as opposed to container ships) were carrying massive amounts of crude and the big saviour for us was in fact bad storms moving in and breaking up the spills. How the hell with modern satellite nav this still happens....

Am Loolah

Yep, that's the word here. There was a public meeting in Tauranga this evening and one planned for Papamoa and one for the Mount later this week. I hope to get along to the Papamoa one.

Justcol

you cant just bowl up and start pumping oil off.
you have to take stock and assess the situation first. The first assessments would
have been can the ship be moved, that would have taken a while then once that
had been decided the operation to start the removal of the oil would have got under way.

Its a sad situation but I'm sick of everyone chipping in with stupid comments, The authorities
will have done all they can as quickly as they can to sort it out yet people are still whinging
What else are they supposed to do call in Thunderbirds from International rescue ??

The radio was full of idiots shouting that the containers should be just thrown over board
to lighten the load so the ship could be towed off the reef, now it seems that many of the containers
are full of toxic materials so its a good job that the authorities took a little time and
didn't listen to the angry mob. There were even people on the radio saying EVERYONE with a boat should
turn up and try to tow it back out to sea!!!

on the plus side, if the containers do come ashore who ever finds them can claim them and the contents
which is probably why we're being told they are toxic, anyone remember the pictures of BMW motorbikes
being dragged from the container that washed up on a UK beach a few years ago

Am Loolah

Not sure about that Col. It seems they declined the offer of the boat to pump oil out on Wednesday and Thursday last week. That same boat started doing just that yesterday, when the weather that had been fine had turned to shit and hit the container ship and is now in port being repaired.

The beach is expected to be pretty much black from today after appalling weather last night.

Containers have now spilled off the boat again after last night. Some contain yet more toxic chemicals, some foodstuffs, clothes etc and one contains a Mustang. Guess which one I'm hoping to get my hands on ... No, seriously, it's far from a laughing matter, it is totally and utterly devastating. I shall wait for my youngest to surface and then go and see what the overnight damage is.

elasmo1

Unfortunately I can bet you that modern technology or the lack of it is not what caused this disaster. Human incompetency (rumours that the captain had fell asleep) or the need to "cut corners" (remember the tanker that got too close to the great barrier reef last year?, ships knew they had to stay a certain distance away but got closer so they could get to their destination port quicker)

This is what happens when you have rich companies that recruit crew that you pay less, don't speak English and fly under a flag of convenience...

The only way to save coastal areas would be to have regular patrols to save this from happening again, but I agree it's sooooo depressing to here this happening AGAIN.

Expat Kiwi

I agree with you.

I've heard that the government held back from doing too much because they were waiting for the salvage teams to take it on, apparently they were wary of becoming liable.

As for the Filipino crew, they are little more than 'slaves.' It wasn't that long ago that the Nats were poo-pooing the reports of foreign fishermen operating in NZ waters being just that

I want to know why the vessel was found defective and impounded in Tasmania but NZ officials allowed it to set sail

That oil is going to be leaking for months now, it's going to ruin the local ecology and the enjoyment of those beaches all summer. Heads should roll but they never do.

Justcol

from a man at the ministry this morning

The ship called to start removing the oil was in port undergoing repairs when it was 1st called.
the ship cut short the repairs and set sail asap
the oil CANNOT be removed until it has been heated to 60 degrees, this would take some
time as the heaters were switched off for safety reasons when the ship ran aground

rick78

We're heading to Rotorua for a long weekend (Thurs - Sun) and are planning on heading out to the bay... we'll probably still go, just hoping what we see isn't too depressing.

Justcol

take a walk up the mount instead its worth the walk and is a nice view from the top.
from what i can gather the beaches at the mount, which are the nicest anyway, are ok

Bo-Jangles

Amazing isn't it how everyone becomes an armchair expert on these matters? Considering the 'she'll be right' attitude most have here when it comes to health safety and the environment the braying crowds are quick to want to see 'foreign' heads roll and whining about who is footing the bill.