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TAURANGA, New Zealand – The calmest weather in days has given salvage crews hope they will be able on Friday to resume pumping the remaining fuel from a cargo ship stuck on a New Zealand reef.
The ship Rena has already spilled hundreds of tons of oil and crews are in a race against nature to try and remove the remaining fuel before waves break up the vessel, which has begun to crack apart and is leaning on a 22-degree tilt.
Last week crews removed about 10 tons of oil before the weather forced them to postpone salvage attempts.
Environmentalists have warned of a disaster for wildlife if all the ship's 1,870 tons (1,700 metric tons) of oil and 220 tons (200 metric tons) of diesel is allowed to spill into the ocean.
Nick Bohm, a spokesman for Maritime New Zealand which is managing the emergency response, told The Associated Press Friday that crews are "relatively positive" they can proceed with plans to board the vessel and begin pumping oil to a nearby barge. He said pumping should begin Friday afternoon in an operation that could last several days.
Bohm said there are stronger winds forecast for the weekend which may hamper the operation.
Meanwhile, several of the 88 containers that have fallen off its deck had washed ashore by Friday, and authorities confirmed one container that toppled overboard contained a hazardous substance. However, an official said it should not pose a major threat.
Heavy seas had kept salvage crews away from the 775-foot (236-meter) Liberian-flagged Rena for days, but better weather Thursday allowed crews to board the vessel for about six hours to check systems. The Rena ran aground Oct. 5 on Astrolabe Reef, 14 miles (22 kilometers) from Tauranga Harbour on New Zealand's North Island.
Ewart Barnsley, another spokesman for Maritime New Zealand, said the salvage crew found oil hoses and pumps for transferring fuel largely undamaged aboard the ship. They also concluded that the ship was safe to work from. Barnsley said a barge was moored nearby to receive oil.
Marine New Zealand salvage manager Bruce Anderson said the vessel has appeared to have stopped moving, which was necessary before pumping operations can resume.
"While this is good news, we shouldn't get too excited," Anderson told reporters. "We already had a complex project to start with; it's even harder now that we've sustained damage aboard this vessel," he said, referring to recent structural cracking.
A vertical crack in the ship runs around the entire vessel — meaning the ship is now only held together by its internal components, said Steve Jones, another spokesman for Maritime New Zealand.
"The reality is the vessel could break up at any point," Jones told The Associated Press.
Six vessels have been mobilized to intercept the drifting containers and other debris in the water.
There were 1,368 containers on board, 11 of which contained hazardous substances, Maritime New Zealand said. One of the hazardous containers is among those that have fallen overboard, Jones said.
Bohm said the container held alkyl sulfonic acid, which can be harmful in its original state, but becomes less toxic when diluted with water. The whereabouts of that container are unknown.
Some of the contents of containers that had washed ashore were strewn across the coastline this week, including thousands of meat patties that littered the sand.
The ship's 44-year-old Filipino captain was charged Wednesday with operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk and was released on bail Wednesday at Tauranga District Court.
The ship's second officer appeared in the same court Thursday on the same charge. Judge Robert Wolff made orders suppressing publication of the defendants' names for the sake of their personal safety.
If convicted, each could face a fine of up to 10,000 New Zealand dollars ($7,800) and 12 months in prison. Their next court appearance is Oct. 19, when authorities say more charges are likely.
The government has demanded to know why the ship crashed into the well-charted reef in calm weather, but the vessel's owner, Greece-based Costamare Inc., has given no explanation.
Costamare released a statement this week apologizing for the incident and said it was investigating how the ship could have run aground.
"Our Captain is an experienced Master and has an exemplary record," Costamare managing director Diamantis Manos said in the statement. "The ship was fully certified and had recently been inspected ... They found no problems. Obviously something went very wrong and we will cooperate with the Transport Accident Investigation Commission of New Zealand (TAIC) to find the answer."
Maritime New Zealand estimates that at least 390 tons (350 metric tons) of heavy fuel oil have spilled from the hull, leading New Zealand's environment minister, Nick Smith, to call it the country's biggest maritime environmental disaster.
Clumps of oil have washed up on pristine beaches near Tauranga. Maritime New Zealand said hundreds of oiled birds had been found dead and 51 others were being cleaned at a wildlife emergency center. Three seals were also being treated.
Several miles (kilometers) of coastline have been closed to the public, and some beaches were beginning to experience severe oiling, Jones said.
"I was down there," this week Jones said. "It was just black coming in — just black, black, black."
Witnesses said dead fish were also washing ashore as local volunteers with plastic gloves and buckets worked to clean the oily clots from the white sand.
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