http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/09/new-zealand-oil-spill-rena<snip>
A container ship is grounded and leaking oil into New Zealand's pristine Bay of Plenty, with international crews scrambling to limit the environmental damage and refloat the vessel before it breaks up.
The 47,000-tonne Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef on Wednesday. An oil leak from the Liberian-flagged freighter has spread over an area of three miles, according to the BBC. There are estimates of 30 tonnes of oil spilt so far out of the 1,700 tonnes that could be dumped into the ocean if the Rena is wrecked in one of New Zealand's most prized areas of natural beauty.
Maritime authorities have said they are treating birds including little blue penguins brought in covered with oil. Animal welfare workers said the disaster had struck in the middle of breeding season for native birds on the bay.
Australia's ABC network said a team of 200 people including specialists from Australia, Britain, Holland and Singapore had been sent in and 300 defence personnel were on standby in case the slick reached the coastline of the North Island.
The New Zealand prime minister, John Key, toured the scene by air and said two inquiries were under way into the cause. "People know about the reef, and for
to plough into it for no particular reason – at night, in calm waters – tells you something terrible has gone wrong and we need to understand why," he told Radio New Zealand.
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