Back in June 2012, the NZ Herald reported:
However today, the NZ Herald reported:
Professor Chris Battershill seems like a bit of an idiot! Firstly the salvors didn't clean any of the oil up that leaked from the Rena. Maritime New Zealand used CoreExit to make it sink. The problem with that is anytime the sea is rough, and the tide is in the right direction, the oil gets picked up off the bottom of the ocean floor and washed ashore.
The Bay of Plenty is going to be feeling the effects of the Rena disaster for a long time yet.
The group's leader, Professor Chris Battershill, said early samples were promising.
"Our observations suggest we avoided the worst of the disaster, and much of that is because the salvors managed quite effectively to get most of the oil, if not all of it, that hadn't come ashore. If they hadn't, then we'd be in a very different space right now."
However today, the NZ Herald reported:
Oil is still being found at Papamoa Beach a year after the container ship Rena ran aground off the coastline and caused a major spill.
Maritime New Zealand officials will today inspect the beach at Harrison's Cut after authorities received several phone calls over the weekend about splotches of oil in the sand.
The balls of oil, about the size of 5c pieces, are thought to have been driven ashore by easterly winds over the past few days.
Professor Chris Battershill seems like a bit of an idiot! Firstly the salvors didn't clean any of the oil up that leaked from the Rena. Maritime New Zealand used CoreExit to make it sink. The problem with that is anytime the sea is rough, and the tide is in the right direction, the oil gets picked up off the bottom of the ocean floor and washed ashore.
The Bay of Plenty is going to be feeling the effects of the Rena disaster for a long time yet.
