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Environmental Defence wants faster containment of oil spill
07 October 2011
Environmental Defence Society calls for faster containment of oil spill
The Environmental Defence Society has called on Maritime New Zealand to act faster to contain oil spilling from the container ship Rena off Tauranga Harbour.
"We are very concerned to see this incident inexorably moving into a full-scale environmental distaster," said EDS Chairman Gary Taylor.
"The area is one that has high natural values with many seabirds, marine mammals and fish at risk from contamination. Nearby beaches and communities are at risk.
"It is now three days since the container ship became stranded on the Astrolabe Reef and there is still no containment boom around the ship to prevent oil dispersing into the wider marine environment. The sea is calm at present and we see no reason why containment should not already be in place. We understand suitable equipment is available.
"We are not convinced by what we have seen so far that Maritime New Zealand has the situation under control.
"This impression is reinforced by the way they are experimenting with helicopter spraying of dispersal chemicals only to find they are not working. This is redolent of the Gulf of Mexico distaster where authorities were found wanting of tried and proven response techniques.
"We would have thought that there would be a rapid, effective and proven response to this kind of incident and instead are seeing unexplained delays and trialling of different methods of control.
"This indicates a general lack of readiness on the part of the relevant authorities to deal with an oil spill off the New Zealand coast.
"We agree with the Green Party that this is not a good look when we consider the imminent prospect of oil exploration off the same east coast of the North Island. If this is an indication of our readiness then there is a lot of work to be done.
"How the ship got onto to the reef and accountability for that is one thing. The response from Maritime New Zealand and its performance in responding to the situation is another.
"We are looking for rapid deployment of containment booms, removal of the oil from the ship and over a longer time-frame removal of containers that pose a threat to the environment," Mr Taylor concluded.
ENDS
Environmental Defence Society
EDS speaks for the environment. It has influence.
Since 1971, EDS has been driving environmental protection in Aotearoa New Zealand
through law and policy change. That's why it's one of this country's most influential non-
profit organisations when it comes to achieving better environmental outcomes.
EDS has expertise in key disciplines including law, planning, landscape and science. It
operates as a policy think-tank, a litigation advocate, and a collaborator – bringing together
the private and public sectors for constructive engagement.
EDS runs conferences and seminars on topical issues, including an annual Environmental
Summit and the Climate Change and Business Conference.
EDS is a registered charity and donations to it are tax-deductible.
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