Oil disaster in New Zealand: rough seas – rescuers escape from the ghost ship | News

Have you lost the battle against the oil disaster off the coast of New Zealand?

wellington – Pumping work on the damaged tanker “Rena” stopped again. Strong winds and high waves forced rescue crews to abandon the ship. Heavy oil continues to flow from the scrap tanker into the sea.

Rena has huge cracks. It threatens to collapse. “We’re on a knife’s edge here. We’re in for a scary night,” said Matt Watson of Svitzer Rescue.

The desperate battle against environmental catastrophe seems hopeless. Rescue teams’ resources are limited.

They are fighting the oil spill with a hose 150 meters long and only eight centimeters in diameter.

Weather permitting, about 20 tons of heavy oil can be pumped per hour. The poor conditions on board the ghost ship don’t allow for anything more.

“Work is terrible. This thing is moaning and screaming and making a lot of noise. The ship is on its last legs,” said Bruce Anderson of the New Zealand Maritime Authority.

Time speaks against rescuers. So far, they have only been able to pump 90 tons of heavy oil. However, there are still more than 1,200 tons in the fuel tanks of the damaged tanker.

The picturesque coastline is at risk of one of the biggest environmental disasters in New Zealand’s history.

The Rena struck a reef off Tauranga on October 5. Since then, more than 300 tons of heavy oil have leaked into the sea. About 1,300 seabirds died.