As efforts continue to pump out 1,700 tonnes of heavy fuel onboard the grounded vessel Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) said oil had been found on the beach near Tay St, a popular tourist area.
Operations to remove the fuel oil from Rena started on Sunday night, but were suspended after 10 tonnes were transferred due to heavy weather. “The weather is expected to deteriorate further today. Seas are moderate but they will become rough later, there will be poor visibility and we are expecting showers,” MNZ said on Monday.
It remains unclear why the containership ran aground in the early hours of Wednesday morning.