Related Posts
Stranded container ship Rena breaks in half near New Zealand’s coast
The cargo ship that ran aground on a coral reef off New Zealand’s coast last October broke in...
Update: New Zealand oil spill hits beaches
Oil leaking from the stranded container ship off New Zealand’s coast has washed up on local beaches and...
New Zealand oil spill should highlight the death of world’s coral reefs
Containment and clean up of what has been termed New Zealand’s ‘worst ever environmental disaster’ are on their...
Unique Russian subs ‘could stop oil leak’, says captain
Just soon as the US sent a hot Russian spy back home, an offer to help stop the...
Update: Salvage Crews Begin to Remove Oil from Damaged Chinese VesselThere is finally a bit of good news with the whole Great Barrier Reef incident. Yesterday, salvage crews...
Tip of the Day
To save energy, remember to turn off the light when leaving a room
Oil leak off NZ coast
photo by Evan Goldenberg (Naveg on Flickr CC)
A large container ship is stranded on a reef off the coast of New Zealand and is leaking oil.
The ship, named the Rena, ran aground on Astrolabe Reef near the city of Tauranga on Wednesday, causing a 5km (3mi) long oil slick to leak into the Bay of Plenty.
So far 4 sea birds have been found dead in the slick, while 4 blue penguins and 2 shags have been rescued by New Zealand Wildlife Response.
From the New Zealand Herald:
The Rena was carrying about 1700 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and about 70 tonnes of marine diesel when it ran aground this week.
23-25 Filipino crewmembers remain aboard the Liberian container ship and are working to minimize the leak and salvage what they can of the cargo.
From BBC News:
New Zealand’s Department of Conservation said the Astrolabe Reef was covered with colourful sponges and anemones, with seals and gamefish such as marlin common in surrounding waters.
Watch the below video from the Telegraph:
Tags: Astrolabe Reef, blue penguin, leak, New Zealand, oil, Rena, ship
2 Comments
You can also log in to post a comment.
Other Greenfudge.org posts
Whaling to Continue in Japan, Despite Environmental Activists’ Efforts
Hundreds of whales are killed per year, using cruel methods like explosive harpoons; and a number of the whales are also listed as Endangered, but apparently this is not enough to stop the horrendous efforts of the Japanese whaling industry. Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada met with Stephen Smith, his Australian counterpart, in an attempt to encourage Australia to help prevent violent attacks by activists against Japanese whalers. A Japanese foreign ministry official said that “our minister did not clearly state...
Explaining Cap and Trade
There is something about political and economic jargon that causes the eyes to glaze over and the brain to tune out. Accurate, comprehensive explanations come too late and are either too complex or simply too removed from most people’s experiences and day-to-day lives to make sense for them. This may be a fundamental problem of democracy, of which populist politicians take full and unscrupulous advantage. Maybe I’m being overly cynical, but it’s plain to me that nuance and accuracy do...
Tomorrow is World Environment Day. How Will You Celebrate?
Tomorrow marks the 38th annual World Environment Day and this year the main event is hosted by Rwanda. I’ll bet you might be wondering: “What is World Environment Day?” Well, it’s a day for the environment, a day to put the issues in peoples’ faces and make them aware that they are responsible and can do something about it, and it’s a day for advocating partnerships among all living species on this planet. This year’s big event comes packed with a...
Ecuador: Between China and a hard place
pic: Aperture (Wikimedia Commons) A provider of sanctuary to WikiLeaks founder and champion of transparency Julian Assange and staunch ally of the recently bereaved Venezuela, Ecuador has been punching above its weight of late. In terms of international relations, that is. Ecologically speaking, Ecuador is a bonafide heavyweight. According to Conservation International, it is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries, with the highest density of biodiversity per km on Earth. The Galápagos Islands alone should cement the nation's global environmental...
Bread and roses: Consumerism trumps environment and ‘fair trade’
With Valentine's Day, 2011 already on the books, we saw some recent press attention being given to the impact of the rose industry on Kenya’s ecology. The rush to buy flowers on Valentine’s Day in Europe basically sucks up huge amounts of Kenya’s water – an increasingly scarce resource in the East African nation. For more on that story see the Valentine’s Day article in the Guardian. While Europe’s flower basket is Kenya, the US mainly sources its blossoms from Colombia, though...
Indonesia has Something to Crow About
Crows are very mysterious birds. Associated with life, death and rebirth, they are very cunning and master tricksters. It’s no wonder then that for years, the Banggai Crow (Corvus unicolor) was believed to be extinct. But now, they are seen lurking amongst their native habitat again. Known only by 2 specimens described in 1900, this Indonesian Crow was found on Peleng Island, off the east coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, in 2007. Pamela Rasmussen, a Michigan State University zoologist verified the finding....
TrikE: A Green, Electric Tricycle for Adults!
Adults take things way too seriously. We worry about our jobs, our family, our bills, our financial status, what our credit score might be, and our car payments. We dwell on trivial things or past regrets and stress out over global warming and social insecurities. Maybe we are in therapy or maybe the bartender is the closest thing we’ll ever have. People panic about their investments and they panic about their health. Where did we go wrong? Remember when you were a...
Rachel Maddow on the Gulf’s future
Check out this clip from last night’s Rachel Maddow show on the situation in the Gulf of Mexico in light of BP’s successful capping of the oil well leak. Rachel is joined by NBC’s chief environmental affairs correspondent Anne Thompson to discuss possible scenarios such as hurricanes and contingency plans as well as the eventual relief well, which should offer a permanent solution to the leak in the Gulf. What next for the Gulf? Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news...
Silent Summer – Sir David Attenborough lends weight to book on destruction of UK ecosystems
A new major environmental book, entitled Silent Summer: The State of Wildlife in Britain and Ireland, offers up disturbing facts and figures about the human impact on nature in the British Isles. Celebrated naturalist, broadcaster and national treasure Sir David Attenborough has penned the forward to the book, a collaborative effort by 40 UK ecologists, which outlines the impacts of pesticides, population growth and intensive farming on British and Irish flora and fauna. The 600-page book, edited by Norman Maclean, emeritus...
The Scary Science of Frankenfood
Our relationship with food is somewhat strange, when you think about it. We expect food to make us stronger, faster, and healthier – while we sit in front of the television eating. Our food also keeps promising us all that and more – fish sticks may be bad for you, but not the kind that comes with Omega 3 fatty acid, which is good for you! It’s a real miracle that these adverts actually increase sales, considering many kids these days...
View all articles
I reckon there is insurance and then public funds as well as clean up agencies. Many businesses and of course state interests are tied up in shipping and energy.
I pray that my fellow Filipino crew members on that ship as well as the others are all ok.. are the ship owners will be accountable to the oil spills or leakage of their ship? coz it’s always happening…