Notes from Media Briefing 3.30pm
Sunday 16 October
Salvage:
· The platforms are hung on the ship and the Awanuia is in position along with the Napier-based tug Ahuriri. They have attached a floating line so they can now concentrate on moving fuel and force it through (it is still like peanut butter). They hope to start pumping today. The crew have asked for night operations and this must be planned carefully as an evacuation plan is required. Everyone is wearing lift harnesses and life jackets at all times.
· On No 5 port tank they have penetrated the deck to get hoses into the portway the length of the ship. However the atmosphere has to be checked as they cannot work inside at the moment – like working inside a petrol tank.
· So far there is 770 tonnes in the No5 port tank and two large settling tanks handy to the engine room. They are less sure about the No 5 starboard tank, which is under water. It doesn’t appear ruptured and there is no sign of oil coming out. They will have to do a “hot tap” which requires drilling through several layers, closing the valve and extracting the oil. They know there is 1000 tonnes on there and another 360 tonnes that can’t be confirmed. About 350 tonnes appears to have been lost but may still be in the vessel duct keel and holds. There will be more oil released but we don’t know where or when.
· The Archimedes pump can do anything from 0 to 86 tonnes an hour and about 20 tonnes an hour is realistic. There is every chance the ship could slip off the reef. The ship is sitting precariously on the reef and the only thing holding it in place is the buoyancy of air in the engine room. The ship has 7000 tonnes of ‘ground reaction’ (pressure) on the reef and a good swell would give 600 tonnes of lift.
· Weather: is believed to be good today and tomorrow but swells and higher waves later on Monday.
· Containers: 1368 on board, 88 in the water, 20 ashore, 11 hazardous substance contents and one of these is in the water. Thirty four have been tracked.
Beach cleanup:
· The volunteer force on the beach is extraordinary and they are employing sound environmental practices. Vehicles are only being used on clean areas.
· The surf zone effectively breaks down the oil and weather is a key factor.
· There is a sheen 20 km west of White Island which is significantly diminished. The more chop, the better.
· A command post has been set up in Whakatāne and another in Waihī.
· A lot of fist-sized balls of weathered oil are arriving on the beach and these can be easily picked up. Some oil has been seen around the Mount base.
· The Mount main beach has been reopened up to Leisure Island and the rest of the beach is closed while water sampling is done to see if oil is buried in the sand. A heavy science programme is underway in monitoring and surveillance of the 30 km of beach from the Mount to Maketū and inland. Teams are reporting back on the extent of the oil.
· Very little oil is coming ashore now but there will be another release at some stage.
· People are reminded that seafood and shellfish gathering is not advised along the entire coast. The other beaches will be reviewed overnight and tomorrow and the sand is being examined to check on any sedimentation. Rock pools around the Mount are being cleared with absorbent material.
Minister Stephen Joyce said it was apparent that we were coming through Round 1 of the spill and he appreciated everyone’s work in the initial stages from volunteers to professionals and defence force.
“When you look at how precarious and challenging this is we are still a long way from getting a significant tonnage of oil off and there is rough weather coming. We are nowhere near out of the woods by any means.
Beach – Notice of small area to be re-opened:
The National On Scene Commander has agreed to re-open a small section of beach between Mount Maunganui and Moturiki Island (Leisure Island).
Some restrictions on public access have been lifted, and the following areas are again open to public access:
From the Base Track at Mount Maunganui to Moturiki Island.
A marine oil spill response is being carried out and access is restricted in the following area:
From Moturiki Island to Maketu Point, including the Maketu Estuary.
The decision to allow public access to the small section of beach was made after careful assessment of the beach and water sampling.
National On Scene Commander Nick Quinn said this part of the beach had received light to moderate oiling last week.
“We’ve had beach clean-up teams there getting rid of the oil, and this morning we had environmental assessment teams digging down into the sand to check for any buried oil.
“They’ve dug a number of trenches down into the sand and established that it’s clear.
“We have also conducted water sampling, which has confirmed the water in that area has returned to pre-spill conditions.”
Mr Quinn said there was still the possibility that changing tides and weather conditions could bring residual oil to the open part of the beach.
“People shouldn’t panic if they do see some oil around there – it’s been three days since we got any fresh oil off the ship and so the oil that is out there is weathered and less toxic than any fresh oil.
“However, we still want people to report any oil they see – particularly around this open section of beach. We’d also ask that any oil that is seen, not be touched, but reported back to us.”
Assessment teams had identified some oil in rock pools around the mount – clean-up teams were tackling this today.
Mr 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.
“We are here for the duration of this response. When oil turns up on the shore, we will get it clean and open to the public as soon as we can. And if we need to, we will do that again and again.”
The beach between Moturiki Island and Maketu remains closed.
Maritime New Zealand oil spill response team
www.maritimenz.govt.nz/incident
Media queries (including wildlife queries) - 0800 774 554
International media queries - +64 27 815 4849
General queries - 0800 OIL SPILL
Wildlife response (non media queries) - 0800 333 771
Public health queries 0800 611 116
Iwi liaison 0800 AWHI ME 0800 294 463
Wildlife:
DOC vessel Matariki has been out patrolling coast today and has inspected some of the smaller islands. Motunau (Plate Island) - 13 seals seen, which is fewer than usual. Half had some oil on them and were deemed to not require intervention. Local staff expected to see more seals than what were seen, but did not land on island to check all of area. Motuhaku (Schooner Island)- two seals seen but not oiled. Thirty nine teams are out today extending east beyond Ōpōtiki.
One large mob of birds seen south of Motunau, including 500 grey faced petrel. No oil seen. Lots of penguins about swimming normally, and lots of red billed/black backed gulls observed. The team on Matariki thought birds were preening themselves more, but not appearing oiled.
Volunteers for DOC have been given a day off .
· A reminder that people should not try to capture, handle or feed the seals that they think may be oiled, but report their concerns to the wildlife recovery line 0800 333 771 and stay well away. The seal recovery team will assess the seal. Weepy eyes are normal and they have their own natural oils. Seals groom themselves a lot to keep their fur clean. They're very smart animals and it isn't long before they become accustomed to feeding and being around people. This can severely affect their future independence so please report concerns but it's best to keep your distance.
