The Green Party is calling for the Government to take over full legal responsibility for the salvage of the container ship grounded off Tauranga and the clean up of its oil spill.
The 21-year old cargo ship Rena hit the Astrolabe Reef, about 12 nautical miles off the coast, at about 2.20am on Wednesday. The vessel is carrying about 1700 tonnes of fuel some of which has leaked into the sea.
The party's spokesperson for marine conservation, Gareth Hughes, says officials have squandered the opportunity to stop the oil spreading.
Prime Minister John Key, who is to visit the site on Sunday, says the Government is doing everything it possibly can to help and Maritime New Zealand has an extensive operation underway.
He says it is clearly a very serious situation that poses major environmental risks to the area.
