The stricken cargo ship stranded on a reef off New Zealand began breaking in two Sunday, losing up to 300 containers overboard as the stern began to sink, dpa reported. The stern section of the 47,000-ton vessel was ripped away from the front by 7-metre high waves and a gap of nearly 30 metres separated the two parts, Maritime New Zealand said. As many as 300 of the 830 containers left on the Rena were lost overboard as it began breaking up. Up to 60 may be floating while the rest had sunk, salvage adviser Jon Walker said. The New Zealand authorities are now preparing to deal with another oil spill as the stern goes under water. The front remained stuck firmly on the reef, 22 kilometres off the east coast port of Tauranga, where it grounded on October 5. The rear section had been held in place by a line from an anchored tugboat. Tauranga is one of the busiest ports in the country and authorities issued a warning to shipping because conditions were too rough to recover the debris immediately. Cargo from broken containers including timber, meat, dairy products and animal skins for export had washed up on beaches. With strong winds and high sea swells expected to continue over the next few days, Maritime New Zealand said the response team had been activated to respond to the likelihood of a new oil leak and to treat any affected wildlife. "While reports at this stage indicate there has not been a significant release of oil, with the Rena in its current fragile state, a further release is likely," field commander Alex van Wijngaarden said. The country's worst maritime environmental disaster has already spilled about 360 tons of heavy fuel oil after the Rena hit the reef. About 30 kilometres of beaches were polluted and more than 2,000 seabirds died after being trapped in the thick oil while nearly 400 oil-contaminated blue penguins were captured and cleaned. The Filipino captain and navigation officer of the Liberian-flagged Rena spent the New Year in New Zealand on bail and awaiting trial on criminal charges related to the grounding.
