Description
Long oil trails appear in the harbour's water after the spill. The Rena oil spill occurred off the coast of Tauranga in New Zealand. On Wednesday, 5 October 2011, at 2:20 AM (Tuesday, 4 October 13:20 UTC) while sailing in clear weather from Napier to Tauranga, at a speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph), Rena ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef. The ship was carrying 1,368 containers, eight of which contained hazardous materials, as well as 1,700 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and 200 tonnes of marine diesel oil. The spill has been described as New Zealand's worst maritime environmental disaster.