Oil from a leaking ship stranded on a reef off the coast of New Zealand has begun washing ashore, as teams work to stabilise the vessel. Fist-sized clumps of oil have been found on Mount Maunganui beach on the North island.
The container ship, the 775-foot (236m) Rena, ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef on Wednesday. Crews are trying to pump oil off the vessel but bad weather has been hampering efforts. So far up to 30 tonnes of oil or fuel are believed to have leaked into the sea. Officials fear that if the ship breaks up in bad weather 1,700 tonnes of fuel could be spilled. 'Round the clock'
A tanker is moored alongside the vessel to offload the oil, but on Monday work was halted after only 10 tonnes had been removed because of high winds.
More bad weather is forecast later in the week and Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) said the off-loading operation would be carried out as fast as possible.
"The weather is expected to deteriorate in the coming days, so we are working around the clock to remove the oil," it said in a statement.
"The top priority is to first remove the oil, then lighten the vessel by removing the containers, and finally, move the ship off the reef."
About 200 people are involved in the salvage operation, while 300 military personnel are on stand-by to clean up beaches. Officials have closed the affected beach and residents close to vulnerable coastlines have been told to stay out of the water.
MNZ said more oil was expected onshore in coming days.
"We are expecting oil to wash up on the shoreline south of Mount Maunganui but we don't know how much," it said.
Mayor of Tauranga Stuart Crosby said teams were doing all they could to bring the situation under control.
"The best people in the world are here now working incredibly hard under now challenging conditions, as you can see, to remove the oil and lessen the risk of an environmental catastrophe," he said.
Wildlife fears
Oil leaking from the Liberian-flagged Rena, stranded 12 nautical miles off the coast, has created a 5km (three-mile) slick. The department of conservation has established two wildlife rescue centres and dispatched teams to search the beaches and islands in the area for affected animals and birds. Several oiled-covered birds, including little blue penguins, have already been recovered.
Greenpeace has warned that whales and dolphins calving in the area could also be affected. The owners of the ship, Greece-based Costamare Inc, have not given an explanation for the grounding, but said they were "co-operating fully with local authorities" to minimise any damage.
Prime Minister John Key, who flew over the scene in a helicopter on Sunday, said two inquiries to determine why the ship had collided with the Astrolabe Reef were already under way.