Salvage teams are hoping to make progress in the massive job of removing oil from the stricken cargo ship Rena today.

The weather is calm in the Bay of Plenty this morning but winds are forecast to rise again later today.

National on scene commander Nick Quinn says they are co-ordinating a team of around 1000 on land, sea and air. He said they are covering areas like field operations, planning, logistics, wildlife recovery and community and iwi liaison.

“Our resolve is strong and morale is high.”

Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) has confirmed that has been no change to the situation of the Rena overnight. It says salvage teams have worked through the night to build a platform which they intend to attach to the port side of the vessel today.

This will be used to assist fuel recovery operations and two teams of three salvagers will be winched onto the vessel this morning.

Port back in business

Operations at Port of Tauranga have resumed this morning after being suspended last night when containers got into shipping channels, and debris from the Rena was observed off the port.

The suspension affected two ships – the Australian Express and the Kota Jati while other shipping movements were rearranged.

The port says Maritime New Zealand is helping by keeping an eye on the main shipping route from the air.

And the Navy is providing extra equipment and manpower so the port can provide 24 hour surveillance of the shipping channels.

Of the 88 containers spilled into the sea, 20 have washed ashore. One container containing toxic chemicals remains unaccounted for.

Tough task

Salvors boarded the ship yesterday to check on its condition and discovered the ship’s structure has been under immense pressure.

The ship ran into the Astrolabe Reef off the coast of Tauranga last Wednesday, spilling oil and containers into the sea.

The salvage team is investigating whether they can get inside Rena’s hull or if they will have to work from the outside the ship.

The Rena is now leaning 22 degrees on its starboard side and has leaked up to 350 tonnes of oil and less than a third of that has washed ashore and been cleaned up.

Beach access remains restricted this morning from Mt Maunganui to Maketu Point.

Long term consequences

A marine ecologist believes the Bay of Plenty oil slick may cause long term problems for animals which don’t immediately succumb.

NIWA’s Drew Lohrer says it’s likely to affect many different aspects of the food chain, depending on where the oil gets to and which types of ecosystems are affected.

Lohrer says many small animals live in sediments which are fed upon by fish and birds, leading to consequences further up the food chain. He says it could take years or decades for oil to disappear naturally – making it all the more important to clean up as much of it as possible.

- with Newstalk ZB