Science Media Centre

The stranded container ship Rena has finally broken apart after grounding on the Astrolabe reef several months ago. Although most of the fuel oil carried by the ship has been removed, the broken vessel still presents a variety of hazards. The ship, which grounded on the reef in October 2011, was torn in two by [...]

The Rena grounding was the focus of a night of informal talks from experts at a cafe in Tauranga this month, bringing the science of the recovery effort to the people. Three experts spoke earlier this month at a Cafe Scientifique gathering in Tauranga, the epicenter of the Rena recovery. Cafe Scientifique is an international [...]

International rule-changes mean some ships in New Zealand’s seaways are switching from using traditional navigation techniques and paper charts to a sophisticated form of the satellite navigation systems car drivers use on roads. Research suggests the the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) could significantly reduce the number of ships that run aground internationally. [...]

The stricken container ship Rena is being hit with four metre swells hampering efforts to remove oil and prevent further major spillages should the ship break up. The latest official update from Maritime New Zealand is here. The SMC posed questions to international naval architecture experts on the forces at play in the damaged ship [...]

The black tide of contamination pouring from the container ship Rena, in New Zealand’s biggest fuel oil spill, may yet offer  a silver lining in terms of knowledge to be gained by the nation’s scientists and researchers. Two quite different American oil spills — Alaska’s  Exxon Valdez grounding  in 1989, and Louisiana’s  BP Deepwater Horizon [...]

Professor Nigel Barltrop, the John Elder Chair of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Research Director at University of Strathclyde’s Engineering Department comments: 1. How likely is it that the ship will break up? Could Rena ship be salvaged in one piece having sustained that type of damage or has it gone past that stage? “Maybe [...]

Waikato University marine ecology and environmental science expert Professor  Chris Battershill has predicted the clean-up of fuel oil from the Rena will take months, and that though open sandy beaches may recover quite quickly, the region’s unique rocky reefs will take a lot longer. Professor  Battershill is the inaugural Chair in Coastal Science for the Bay [...]

Currently location information for ships in the Tauranga region is unavailable. We have contacted MarineTraffic.com, the host of the below application, with aim of rectifying the situation. We apologise for the inconvenience . Real time satellite data is available for ships in the Tauranga region.   Marrine traffic.com shows the location of all registered ships [...]

The SMC received the following comments from experts on various aspects of the oil spill. Feel free to use these quotes or contact the SMC to follow up with these and other experts. The latest update from Maritime New Zealand is available here. Impact of the oil spill: Dr Norm Duke, Professorial Research Fellow, Mangrove [...]

Between 30 and 70 containers have fallen from the MV Rena which is grounded on the Astrolabe reef near Tauranga harbour. The SMC asked an international expert in oil spills on the potential hazards posed by the loose containers. Dr. Simon Boxall, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, comments: “The main concern now is securing [...]