The country’s worst environmental disaster in decades has arisen from an oil spill caused by a stranded cargo ship off New Zealand.
According to officials, approximately 350 tonnes of oil may have escaped from the Rena, which is 775ft (236m) long and ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef near the port of Tauranga on Wednesday.
Efforts to pump oil from the vessel have been stalled due to bad weather.
Environment Minister Nick Smith warned that the situation would deteriorate “significantly” in the upcoming days.
“This incident has reached a point where it is acknowledged as New Zealand’s most serious maritime environmental disaster,” he stated during a news conference in Tauranga.
Mr. Smith noted that the volume of oil leaking from the ship has surged “fivefold” since it ran aground.
“The government is committed to deploying every possible resource to reduce the environmental damage of what is now evident as New Zealand’s worst environmental disaster in decades.”
