Aerial view of stranded vessel Rena - Source: ONE News
Containers sway to the side onboard the Rena - Source: Supplied
Reserve soldiers from Auckland clean Papamoa Beach - Source: New Zealand Defence Force
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Salvage crew have begun pumping heavy oil from the stranded cargo ship Rena off the coast of Tauranga after they were given permission to work on the ship overnight.
Operators have been trying to start the job for the last three days.
The operation comes as Maritime New Zealand announced it has re-opened a small section of beach on the Tauranga coastline affected by the oil slick from the ship.
The ship remains teetering on the edge of the Astrolabe Reef it struck on October 5.
Head of Maritime New Zealand's salvage operation Bruce Anderson he has received a plan from the salvage crew that will allow them to stay on the vessel overnight and all of tomorrow.
"The safety of the salvage team is paramount," he said.
"I had to be satisfied that there is a workable plan to rescue the people from the vessel if something goes wrong.
"I have now seen the plan which states the steps they will take to ensure the safety on board overnight to complete preparations and then start pumping fuel to the tanker Awanuia that is lying off the Rena's stern."
Anderson said they could only allow a maximum of three people to remain on the vessel, which is one helicopter load.
However authorities have admitted they will not have time to clear the vessel of her 1300 tonnes of oil before the next lot of bad weather sets late tomorrow. Pumping at an estimated rate of 20 tonnes per hour the operation will take 67 hours.
National On Scene Commander Nick Quinn said that removing the heavy is complex due to the ship's leaning and the oil's consistency.
"While we understand that everyone is anxious to know the oil is being removed, (but) we need to be absolutely sure our systems are firmly in place and that we mitigate against all risks, including the safety of salvage crews and protection of the environment," he said.
"It's crucial we stay one step ahead and are well prepared for whatever the situation throws at us."
Further warnings
There are warnings that there could be another leak of 100 tonnes from the duct keel.
Around 350 tonnes of oil has leaked into the Bay of Plenty so far from the Rena.
Transport Minister Steven Joyce told TVNZ's Q+A programme this morning that with the upcoming rough weather predicted the like hood of further oil loss increases.
There has been no fresh oil leaked from the vessel in the last three days, and the beach clean-up is expected to be completed by the end of today.
Clean-up cost
Joyce said the cost of cleaning up oil from the cargo ship has reached about $3.5 million so far.
"The cost of the salvage I don't know, but that's entirely at the ship's owner's accounts, the cost of the salvage and the containers," Joyce said.
He said the $3.5 million cost is what relates to the liability under the Maritime Transport Act.
He admitted the total cost could well be tens of millions of dollars.
Joyce said he had called the Mediterranean Shipping Company to a meeting in Wellington tomorrow.
MSC is the second-biggest container-shipping company in the world and leases the ship from Costamare Incorporated.
"They lease the ship from Costamare Incorporated, and I believe that they should be stepping up a lot more publicly than they have been to this point, and we'll be discussing that at some length tomorrow morning.
"They have to step up and be part of this exercise."
Greens co-leader Russel Norman was critical that only 10 tonnes of oil was removed from the Rena in the first five days after the stranding.
"We had a five-day window of calm weather where the ship was in relatively good shape, compared to what it is now," he told Q+A .
"The containers obviously weren't falling all over the place, it wasn't as dangerous, the ship wasn't breaking up, and we only got 10 tons of oil off in that window."
But Joyce said that operation was limited by the state of the pipes on the ship and its location on the reef.
"If they had gone on there to take the oil off the reef and opened the valves, they would have pouring oil into the water."
Beach reopens
Wildlife rescue crews are still rounding up oiled birds.
Meanwhile, the beach has reopened today from the Base Track at Mount Maunganui to Moturiki Island.
Quinn said although the open section was only a small piece of coastline, the quick turnaround between the oiling last Thursday and the re-opening today showed how effective the clean-up crews could be.
The decision was made today after careful assessment of the beach and water sampling in the area, Quinn said.
Quinn said there was still the possibility that changing tides and weather conditions could bring residual oil to the open part of the beach.
The beach between Moturiki Island and Maketu remains closed.
Assessment teams had identified some oil in rock pools around the mount and clean-up teams were tackling this today, Quinn said.
More than 500 volunteers today assisting with beach clean-ups at Papamoa and Maketu.
There have been 618 tonnes of oiled sandy waste recovered, Maritime NZ said today.
The oil is still taking a toll on the region's wildlife with 1250 dead birds recovered so far, 181 are being treated and some 36 rare Dotterels are being captured as a precautionary move.
Wildlife teams are trying to round the animals up before they become too badly oiled.
There are also 143 little blue penguins, two pied shag, one kingfisher, one fluttering shearwater and one white fronted tern being looked after.
The public is encouraged to contact the Wildlife Response team on 0800 333 771 if they find oiled birds or seals.
Australian help
Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese says the federal government will continue to offer help to New Zealand authorities dealing with the grounded Rena.
Albanese visited the Disaster Response Co-Ordination Centre in Tauranga today.
He said the experts were helping with the deployment of equipment such as booms and skimmers and assisting with the clean-up of the oil on nearby beaches.
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