Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

The past week has been surreal.

The stranding of the container ship, Rena, on the Astrolabe Reef early on Wednesday morning was received with disbelief. How could this happen with such a well-known reef, in such a well traveled piece of our coast?

The stranding was followed pretty swiftly by Maritime New Zealand establishing its jurisdiction and identifying the incident as nationally significant. MNZ's Marine Pollution Response Service mobilised its team of trained spill responders and specialist equipment to Tauranga. The process of assessing the situation began – how bad, what might happen, who to involve, what to do, in what sequence?

By Thursday, intensive fact finding indicated the situation was very bad and could get much worse. The salvor, Svitzer, was appointed and by Friday they had developed a draft salvage plan which was reviewed MNZ and technical experts. The top priority was to first remove the oil, then lighten the vessel by removing the containers, and finally, move the ship off the reef. MNZ started preparing for an on-water operation to collect heavy fuel oil on the sea and off the Rena. The public was asking what is happening and the messages were not getting through.

By Saturday, experts from around New Zealand and Australia continued to join the large response team led by MNZ, including staff from Councils, DOC, Universities, the Defence Force and other agencies. Lots was happening at the Command Centre but the weather forecasts were bad and the public were asking why isn't more happening?

By Sunday, the fuel tanker Awanuia berthed alongside Rena and the salvage team began pumping oil after the equipment was connected and tested. Finally visible action! The communication started to flow and real progress was made. Unfortunately the window of fine weather started to close on Monday and toxic oil started to be washed up on the beaches. Public meetings were held - the public were saying we are really concerned – what can we do? Stay off the beaches or volunteer to help and get training was the message.

By Wednesday, the bad weather caused containers to come off the Rena. The response operation continues to build. The disaster continues to unfold.

If you have any views on this or any other issue, please contact me on neesj@xtra.co.nz or ring me on 07 579-5150. Or you can check out my website at www.janenees.co.nz