By Elizabeth Puranam
It was another day of disappointment for Rena salvors as weather sabotaged any attempts to get oil off the ship.
A coastal navigation warning has been extended, after oil soaked debris and containers were washed up further South on East Coast beaches.
Four salvors were winched onto the Rena this morning, only to find the starboard side of the ship had widened. The bow and stern have also bent a little more out of alignment.
Swells made it too dangerous to reconnect the hose to the rescue barge to start pumping.
“The low side of the Rena is currently exposed to wind and wave action,” says Maritime New Zealand Salvage Unit Manager Andrew Berry. “It’s also creating a reflected action that is hitting the side of the ship.”
So no more oil was pumped off the ship, but more arrived on the beaches.
The official cleanup operations were on hold again today because of bad weather. But local iwi say they can’t sit back and watch.
“We just want to get it cleaned up and get it back to normal,” says volunteer Hikitia Teaho.
Rena’s wreckage is also spoiling the pristine East Cape; oil soaked debris washed up at Waihau Bay, the setting for the hit movie Boy.
At Waikawa, near Te Kaha, what is left of a container is sitting in the seal.
Local iwi there have been campaigning against deep sea drilling on their doorstep. They can’t believe oil is now on their shores.
“I think this has proved a point,” says Waikawa resident John Wairua. “It will, it can and it has happened.”
Debris from the ship has been reported as far away as Te Araroa, 130km from the reef.
Meanwhile, the men responsible for the mess, the Rena’s captain and navigator, were back in court this morning.
The captain’s lawyer said an additional charge will probably be laid under the Resource Management Act.
As for those trying to fix it, the salvage crew were taken off the Rena tonight.
But this afternoon the Awanui fuel barge was steaming back towards the ship to be ready to resume pumping oil as soon as the weather allows.
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