Up to 70 containers fell overboard last night, and Rena's captain appeared in court this morning charged over the grounding. Picture: AP Source: AP
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A LARGE crack has appeared in the side of the stricken cargo ship Rena, floundering on a New Zealand reef, raising fears it could break up.
TVNZ footage shot from a helicopter today clearly shows the crack running down to the waterline in the port side of the ship, which is now listing heavily, one week after it ran aground on the Astrolabe reef off Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty.
Up to 70 containers fell overboard last night and the footage also shows a container that has washed ashore on nearby Motiti Island, and also another container in the water, apparently leaking a chemical which has reacted with the seawater.
The captain of the Rena appeared in court this morning charged over the grounding.
He was granted named suppression and bailed until October 19 in Tauranga District Court after being charged "for operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk".
The charge under section 65 of the Maritime Act carries a maximum penalty of a $NZ10,000 (about $8000) fine or 12 months' prison. More charges may follow.
Hundreds of tonnes of oil have leaked from the ship and have been washing ashore at local beaches since Monday.
A worker removes a chunk of fuel oil from the Mount Manganui beach stained with oil leaked from Rena. Picture: AP
Source: AP
Dead and other oil-slicked birds have been recovered from the sea and shore.
The ship was carrying 1368 containers - 11 of which are believed to contain hazardous goods but Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) said earlier today all of those were still on the ship.
MNZ issued a navigational warning to ships in the Bay of Plenty after a heavy swell and strong winds battered the stricken ship and spokesman Nick Bohm said other containers were still moving a lot and would "probably" also fall off the ship if rough weather continued.
Some that were washed overboard had already landed on Motiti Island.
A floating crane was coming from Singapore to move containers off the Rena.
Mr Bohm said the Rena's crew remained ashore in Tauranga but would be taken back to the ship when the weather improved.
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