Rena Stable, Preparing For Oil Transfer

in General by Jon C — October 15, 2011 at 8:18 am | 0 comments

Here’s the latest:

Rena stable
Platforms attached for oil transfer to be attempted
No fresh oil leaked overnight
Some private boats oiled
4200 volunteers registered
1000 dead birds

The Rena has remained stable overnight and the salvage team’s assessment is that the vessel’s stern is currently settled on the reef.

There are no reports of fresh oil leaking overnight.

The salvage teams have now attached four platforms to act as a flat surface to undertake fuel recovery from. This morning they begin lifting heavy fuel recovery machinery on to the platforms.

The platforms will provide a flat surface for fuel pumping operations from the port tanks.
MNZ National On Scene Commander Nick Quinn said this would be a long challenging process.

“The teams are working in very difficult and potentially hazardous conditions. The first step is to get all the gear in place and prepare for discharging the oil to the tanker Awanuia.”

The oil in the holds is the consistency of marmite so would need heating before fuel pumping could begin. is believed there are still 1,346 tonnes of oil on board the vessel – 770 tonnes in the port 5 tank, 356 tonnes in the starboard 5 tank and 220 tonnes in the settling tanks. The vessel had 1,673 tonnes to begin with.

An observation flight is assessing the spread and trajectory of the oil.

Beach clean up

An army of volunteers will join the oil spill response team today to continue cleaning oil washed up on beaches.

Rena clean up teams getting briefed | MNZ

More than 4200 people have registered to volunteer, many through the website People can also register to volunteer at the Omanu and Mount Maunganuisurf clubs.

The training and equipping of these volunteers is going well and there will be around 1,000 volunteers on the ground today, working from seven locations.

Rena cleanup volunteer Rona Marie Otene | MNZ

New restrictions

Beach access is restricted from Mt Maunganui to Maketu, including Maketu Estuary. This restriction will remain in place all weekend and be reassessed on Monday.

“There has been some oiling of small private vessels,” Mr Quinn said.
Tauranga City Council has closed the following boat ramps to contain the spread of oil: Sulphur Point, Pilot Bay

376 tonnes of waste has now been collected by two companies working through a consented waste management plan.

Wildlife

The total number of dead birds has now reached 1,000.
There are a total of 110 oiled birds at the wildlife facility being cared for. There are now 25 rare dotterels in captivity at the centre – they have been caught to protect them from the oil. There are only 100 dotterels known to be in the Bay of Plenty region – the wildlife team is aiming to capture at least 60 of these, to ensure the population is protected.

There are only about 1,500 dotterels in existence. A special aviary is being built at the wildlife facility to cater to the needs of these rare birds.