ship\s captain jailed over new zealand oil spill
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Seven month jail sentence for pair

Ship\'s captain jailed over New Zealand oil spill

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Ship\'s captain jailed over New Zealand oil spill

New Zealand oil spill
Wellington - Agencies

New Zealand oil spill The captain and second officer of a ship that caused New Zealand\'s biggest sea pollution disaster when it ploughed into an offshore reef were both jailed for seven months, Friday. The Filipino officers were in charge of the Liberian-flagged Rena when it hit the reef last year, releasing an oil slick that killed thousands of sea birds and fouled beaches in the North Island\'s pristine Bay of Plenty.
Captain Mauro Balomaga and navigation officer Leonil Relon had pleaded guilty in February to a range of charges including attempting to pervert the course of justice by altering navigation records after the accident.
They also admitted operating a ship in a dangerous manner and discharging harmful substances from the cargo vessel.
Prosecutors told the Tauranga District Court on Friday that the pair ignored basic navigational practices when they attempted to take a short cut to reach port in the early hours of October 5 last year.
Maritime New Zealand director Keith Manch welcomed the sentences, saying the ship\'s officers had to be held accountable for their actions.
\"This grounding has had significant consequences for the Bay of Plenty community and the country as a whole\", he said.
Manch added: \"Today marks a milestone in the response, which is still under way\".
The Rena hit the Astrolabe Reef 22 kilometres (14 miles) offshore in clear conditions as it steamed at full speed towards Tauranga, New Zealand\'s largest container port, becoming stuck on the submerged rocks.
More than 300 tonnes of toxic fuel oil spewed from the vessel, creating an oil slick kilometres long, which washed onto beaches at the popular tourist spot, coating birds in thick black sludge.
Environment minister Nick Smith, described it as New Zealand\'s worst maritime pollution disaster.
The accident triggered public fury and a dangerous salvage operation which involved crews scrambling to pump the remaining oil from the Rena\'s fuel tanks as heavy seas pounded the stricken vessel and opened up deep cracks in its hull.
An army of 5,000 volunteers was mobilised to clean up the shoreline of the bay, which contains marine reserves and teems with wildlife including whales, dolphins, penguins, seals and rare sea birds.
The vessel eventually broke up on the reef in January and the stern sank, further complicating a salvage operation which is still continuing as crews remove shipping containers from the bow.
Manch said Balomaga and Relon had altered the Rena\'s course without plotting what lay ahead and failed to recognise how hazardous the reef was when it showed up on the ship\'s radar, dismissing it as a false echo or small vessel.
He said the pair then tried to cover up their actions by altering log entries and navigational records.
\"This offending is also very serious in that it caused genuine confusion for investigators trying to piece together the events that led to the grounding,\" he said.
The government has estimated the disaster clean-up will cost NZ$130 million ($98 million), most of which will be covered by the Rena\'s owner, the Greece-based Costamare Shipping Company, and its insurers.
A Philippine sailors\' support group said the owners of the vessel should share the blame for the disaster.
Investigators should look into the possibility they had ordered the captain to alter course to save fuel, said Edwin de la Cruz, president of the Manila advocacy group International Seafarers\' Action Centre.
\"The captain should not be made a scapegoat because he could not have acted without orders,\" de la Cruz told AFP.
\"The act of the captain is the act of shipowners.\"
De la Cruz said up to 380,000 Filipino sailors are aboard the world\'s merchant marine fleet at any one time, and have been the single largest nationality for the past 25 years.

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

ship\s captain jailed over new zealand oil spill ship\s captain jailed over new zealand oil spill

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

ship\s captain jailed over new zealand oil spill ship\s captain jailed over new zealand oil spill

 



GMT 09:54 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

'Friendly and kind' N. Korean skaters

GMT 09:36 2017 Thursday ,07 December

Heidy Karam’s contract to present talk show close

GMT 10:50 2012 Friday ,20 January

Dusty weather expected in UAE on Friday

GMT 09:35 2018 Saturday ,13 January

New Zealand bat first in third ODI against Pakistan

GMT 10:48 2017 Saturday ,23 December

Meryl Streep's brand under threat

GMT 06:53 2017 Thursday ,11 May

17th Doha Forum To Begin Sunday

GMT 10:30 2017 Thursday ,23 November

Reports underline proliferation of weapons in Arab world

GMT 07:46 2017 Monday ,30 October

Catch it early, treat it early and move on

GMT 08:05 2015 Tuesday ,17 February

Conan O'Brien is first late night host to film in Cuba

GMT 16:17 2018 Thursday ,30 August

Five Saudi women pilots granted GACA licences
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice