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RachFizz 
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Joined: 20 August 2009
Location: Lower Hutt
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 Topic: Oil Spill
Posted: 11 October 2011 at 6:13pm |
CRAP! That's a lot of oil  Heart goes out to those up North who'll be affected, although it'll affect the whole country one way or another by the sounds of things.
Also: Did anyone see Campbell Live the other day that had that sawdust looking stuff? Apparently it's made out of moss and sucks up the oil, but Maritime NZ or whoever won't even consider it? Grrr I hope they have a bloody good reason!
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TTC#1 since Apr11
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Stoked
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Posted: 11 October 2011 at 7:28pm |
Yeah Rach, it's because of the type of oil which is almost like unrefined oil. It is really heavy and thick so isn't easily absorbed by materials. That's my take on it anyway. 
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mummymonster
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Posted: 12 October 2011 at 12:45pm |
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Does anyone know why it took them almost a week to even decide to pump the oil off?
I mean call me crazy but the ship wasn't going to magic itself off the reef right, so wouldn't you get the oil off asap?
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clover
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Posted: 12 October 2011 at 3:37pm |
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So they can say what they like but the number one priority in all of this is not stopping the oil leaking or the environmental damage, it is saving the ship and the cargo. So the salvage company weren't going to do anything that may put the ship in danger (like taking of tonnes of oil) without serious consideration. Any fine they 'may' get will be nothing compared to the value of the ship.
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Stoked
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Posted: 12 October 2011 at 8:34pm |
 IsaacsMum wrote:
Does anyone know why it took them almost a week to even decide to pump the oil off?
I mean call me crazy but the ship wasn't going to magic itself off the reef right, so wouldn't you get the oil off asap? |
There are very few vessels in NZ capable of pumping off the oil, so they had to wait until one could get down to Tauranga (I know when it left Auckland and it seemed to take far too long to get there considering I can sail that distance in 12 hours). Pumping the oil out is not straight forward, it was in the ships fuel tanks which are designed for putting oil in, not taking it out so some alterations possibly had to be made. It sounds like they were concentrating more on sealing the tanks in case the ship broke up.
ETA: The safety of the ship removing the fuel would have also been an important factor - they would have been very cautious about being absolutely certain two vessels did not end up stricken.
Edited by Stoked
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RachFizz
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Posted: 12 October 2011 at 9:22pm |
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@ Clover: gah that sucks!
The explanation John Key gave on Campbell Live tonight seemed pretty good- it just seems like there's so much red tape and decision making fluff they have to go through, just to cover their asses when there's an enquiry. I understand that's just how it works but there's a shame. Seems like the most important factor in it all has been the weather, which noone can do nada about- so heartbreaking!
Did seem quite ridiculous that they weren't doing anything on the calm days- just saying 'Oh this could be bad, maybe we should move some oil as a precaution'. But then, we don't know what goes on with all the planning and preparing in such a complex situation.
FRUSTRATION
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kiwiking
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Posted: 13 October 2011 at 4:55pm |
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What is even more ridiculous is that the Port of Tauranga is the busiest export port in New Zealand, which means a hell of a lot of ships pass through.
Why don't they have plans in place to deal with such a disaster? Or at least a barge that could have pumped the fuel off when the ship first ran aground?
Feel pretty helpless and would love to volunteer but I don't think it would be fair to put my baby's life at risk (fumes etc).
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mummymonster
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Posted: 13 October 2011 at 6:28pm |
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Heard someone on the tv say it was a 'well known and well documented reef' so i guess they just thought anyone in charge of a big ship would be able to read a see chart.
Guess not.
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Stoked
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Posted: 13 October 2011 at 6:57pm |
IsaacsMum wrote:
Heard someone on the tv say it was a 'well known and well documented reef' so i guess they just thought anyone in charge of a big ship would be able to read a see chart.
Guess not.
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I think in the future that this will be the central point of the investigation. My guess is that the people on the bridge of the ship are totally responsible for this disaster....
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Evelyn4409
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Joined: 07 September 2011
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Posted: 14 October 2011 at 9:34am |
Apparently the Greek people who own the vessel were having money issues and it was sitting at an Australian dock for a period of time while they got money sorted for repairs/maintenance. Seems very suspect to me when they are having these sorts of issues, and then the ship is coincidentally 7 miles off course and struck a reef that every GPS system in the world has documented. And now these Greek guys can just claim millions of dollars in insurance! Conspiracy theories are fun 
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Oil Spill
