Maritime New Zealand says a crack on the starboard side of a stricken cargo ship off Tauranga has widened.
The Rena has been wedged on Astrolabe Reef since 5 October and is badly damaged. Up to 350 tonnes of oil and 88 containers have spilled from it, polluting beaches mainly in the Bay of Plenty.
[image:3394:full]Salvors from the company Svitzer began pumping oil from the ship to a bunker barge on Monday, but work has been interrupted due to the weather and heavy sea swells, which reached five metres on Wednesday. About 1200 tonnes of fuel remain on the fragile ship.
Four members of the salvage team have been on board the Rena on Wednesday monitoring the hull and preparing for when the weather improves enough for the oil transfer to resume, but would not stay on it overnight.
Svitzer says the ship's position has not changed from the past few days and it is hoped more oil can be transferred on Thursday. However, spokesperson Matthew Watson told Checkpoint how long this will take depends on conditions.
"If the weather is calm they will gradually ramp up and see what the generators can do. They don't want to push them too hard, because the last thing they want to do is blow the generators."
Mr Watson says it is hard work pumping cold gluggy oil the length of two football fields to the barge Awanuia.
Transport Minister Steven Joyce visited the shore base of the salvage crew in Tauranga on Wednesday and says he is confident the salvage team has enough equipment and wished them well.
However, Mr Joyce says there is no guarantee that the Rena will not eventually break up.
A tugboat was attached to the ship overnight on Wednesday, with two others stationed nearby.
The local marine forecast is for swells of 1 metre easing, with the sea becoming moderate on Thursday morning.
Navigation warning extended
Maritime New Zealand says a coastal navigation warning and clean-up operations have been extended to East Cape due to the continuing spread of debris from the ship.
Marble-sized oil globules and debris have also washed up on beaches at Waihau Bay.
There have also been reports of large oil patties washing ashore at Maketu spit in the Bay of Plenty.
The exclusion zone around the Rena and Motiti Island is being reviewed.
