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(0800 SPILL INFO)
International media call:
+64 4 499 7318
Updated 3.00pm, 18 May 2012
All images in this gallery are available for re-use, provided the photographer or source is acknowledged.
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Dayne and Eva Maxwell with three year old daughter Mia at the Volunteers Day |
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A group of volunteers pose for a phtoto on the beach |
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Volunteers Amy Brown and Ben Courtenay at the volunteers day |
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Children hunting for buried treasure in the beach dig |
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Children hunting for buried treasure in the beach dig |
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Hine Otene from the Iwi Response Team enjoying the Volunteers Day |
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Volunteer Indy Browne with Rena recovery manager Catherine Taylor |
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Mayor Stuart Crosby and Glenys Taikato enjoying the Volunteers Day |
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Pilot Bay adopt a beach team leader, Tracy Hardy at the Volunteers Day |
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Timber has been stacked into piles, ready to be uplifted off Matakana Island |
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Timber has been stacked into piles, ready to be uplifted off Matakana Island |
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Cleanup operations underway on Matakana Island |
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Cleanup operations underway on Matakana Island |
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Cleanup teams at work on Motiti Island |
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Containers unloaded and stored at the port |
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Mike Knight from the SCAT team erecting beach warning signs at Pukehina. |
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Wiremu Smith from the SCAT team Pukehina and Matata. |
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Wiremu Smith from the SCAT team talking to members of the public at Matata. |
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Peter Hamill, SCAT Coordinator, locating a dead penguin during his patrol south of Matata. |
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Beads that have been washing up on shores at Matakana Island from Rena. |
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Sacks that contain beads from Rena that have been washing up on shores at Matakana Island. |
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Gary McColl assists response teams in deploying booms near Rena site. |
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Wood and other debris from Rena washed up on Matakana Beach. |
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Crews on Matakana Beach clean up debris washed up on shore from Rena. |
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Clean up operations on Waihi Beach after containers, timber, milk powder and other debris washed up on shore from Rena. |
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Clean up operations on Waihi Beach after containers, timber, milk powder and other debris washed up on shore from Rena. |
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Clean up operations on Waihi Beach after containers, timber, milk powder and other debris washed up on shore from Rena. |
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Clean up operations on Waihi Beach after containers, timber, milk powder and other debris washed up on shore from Rena. |
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Oil spill responders set up booms at Maketū in anticipation of any fresh oil washing ashore. |
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Oil spill responders set up booms at Maketū in anticipation of any fresh oil washing ashore. |
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Clean-ups begins again to clear containers and debris off Waihi Beach. |
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Clean-ups begins again to clear containers and debris off Waihi Beach. |
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Oil balls exposed by recent windy weather - Papamoa Beach |
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The sifting operation at Papamoa Beach. |
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Volunteers using a large sifter to remove tar balls from an area of sand at Papamoa Beach. |
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Surf washing involves moving oiled sand so it can be washed over by waves on an incoming tide. It results in oil breaking up and being dispersed, or the 'beads' forming larger balls which will be collected. |
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A small bobcat in use during a surf washing operation in a 100 metre section of sand at Papamoa Beach. |
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An example of some of the small tar balls found in a 100 metre section of sand at Papamoa Beach, which was being cleaned using a surf washing technique. |
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German volunteers Jonathan de Jong (left) and Mike Haase cleaning a stretch of sand at Papmoa Beach using the hand-driven Beach Tech machinery. |
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Two hand-driven Beach Tech sweepers are being trialled in the oil spill response. |
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The beach cleaning machine being trialled during the Rena oil response was at Papamoa Beach today and has the capacity to cover larger areas. |
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The bulldozer used in today's surf washing and beach clean-up operation at Papamoa. |
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Shovel of sand during today's clean-up at Papamoa Beach shows the marbling and beading of oil. |
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New Zealand Defence Force personnel painstakingly dig through shells and sand to remove oil at the base of Mt Maunganui (Mauao). |
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Peter Braddock, an Australian marine pollution officer who joined the Maritime New Zealand team speaks to a reporter about the use of oil absorbing polypropylene in filtering oil from water. |
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New Zealand Defence Force teams clear seaweed from an intake pipe to allow water to be pumped up and flushed on oily rocks. |
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Oil flushed off the rocks with salt water is caught in a holding pond like this one, where absorbent materials attract oil to prevent it returning to the sea. |
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Although many beaches are open, Maritime New Zealand is cautioning people to be alert after the oil spill. |
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Oil flushed from the rocks is caught in a holding pool where the water is filtered, to reduce the amount still in the natural environment. |
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Generators are used to pump salt water through hoses so it can mimic the effects of strong storms, dislodging oil from rocks at the base of Mt Maunganui. |
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New Zealand Defence Force teams pump sea water from rock pools so they can flush oil away from the shoreline at the base of Mt Maunganui. |
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New Zealand Defence Force personnel use salt water to flush oil off rocks at the base of Mt Maunganui. |
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Oil drips from a rock at the base of Mount Maunganui where New Zealand Defence Force personnel are flushing it away with salt water. |
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Small particles of oil removed from the beach. |
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Benjamin Hoensch from Germany is part of the 100th volunteer cleanup operation held today on Papamoa Beach. |
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Volunteers cleaning Papamoa beach in the 100th volunteer cleanup operation held since Rena gounded on Astrolabe Reef. |
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Cleanup crews have been painstakingly removing oil from the beaches of Motiti Island. |
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Donna Poka with a quad bike on Matakana Island. |
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Donna Poka taking part in the clean-up on Matakana Island. |
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Hayden Murray taking part in the clean-up on Matakana Island. |
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A clean-up team at Matakana Island. |
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A team of volunteers at Matakana Island. |
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A team of volunteers works to clean oil off rocks near Kulim Park, at Harbour Drive, Tauranga. |
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Volunteers clean oil off rocks near Kulim Park, at Harbour Drive, Tauranga. |
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A volunteer scrapes oil off rocks. |
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Volunteers clean up the beach near Kulim Park, at Harbour Drive, Tauranga. |
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Some of the oil-coated material being removed from the beach. |
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Diggers prepare a ramp for trucks at the north end of Papamoa beach so containers can be removed. |
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Diggers prepare a ramp for trucks at the north end of Papamoa beach so containers can be removed. |
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Volunteers being briefed by Rena response team member Steve Courtney before hitting the beaches at Tay St, Mt Maunganui
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Volunteer teams head out to start clean up work at Tay St, Mt Maunganui |
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Volunteer teams head out to start clean up work at Tay St, Mt Maunganui |
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Volunteers undertaking beach clean up along Papamoa Beach, they are sifting the sand to retrieve oil. |
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Phil Keoghan talks with a volunteer, part of the beach cleanup at Mount Maunganui this morning. |
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Volunteers skim the sand for oil at Mt Maunganui beach. |
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Volunteers meet and get issued with protective clothing at Mt Maunganui beach. |
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NZDF personnel continuing with cleanup operations on the northern side of Mount Maunganui. |
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Defence Force members comb Mount Maunganui beach for oil. |
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A Defence Force team scouring Mount Maunganui beach for oil. |
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Booms deployed at Maketu Estuary. |
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A clean-up worker carries a boom deployed at Maketu Estuary. |
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Booms deployed at Maketu Estuary as seen from a distance. |
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David Hurn, one of the many hundreds of volunteers involved in the clean up of beaches in the Bay of Plenty, concentrates on the rocks around Mount Maunganui. |
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A container from the Rena with its contents spilled across the beach. |
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A tractor used in the oil spill clean-up gets a rinse off. |
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Defence Force members head off to clean a beach of oil. |
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A Defence Force team cleans oil off a beach. |
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A briefing is delivered at the oil spill response command centre. |
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Tourists from Chile, Lorena Bravo and Sebastian Gabler pitch in at the wildlife centre to clean boots and other gear used in the oil clean up. |
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Families are already flocking back to the Mount Maunganui main beach to enjoy the fine weather while beach clean up crews work with the expectation that the beach can be open for the long weekend. |
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The Air Force has played an important role in the Rena oil recovery and salvage by observing developments and following the trail of oil, containers and debris coming from the ship and containers. |
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Salvor Drew Shannon (left) shows Transport Minister Steven Joyce (right) the range of pumps, compressors and other gear assembled in Tauranga for the oil recovery and salvage of the Rena. |
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One of the more than 80 containers swept off the container ship Rena has come ashore on Motiti Island in the Bay of Plenty, located south of the Astrolabe Reef where the ship is aground.
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Dr Wayne Mapp, Minister of Defence, talks to Defence Force personnel involved with the recovery and cleanup from the stricken ship Rena. They are pictured in the Incident Control Centre in Tauranga. |
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Defence Force personnel involved with the Rena recovery and cleanup pictured in the Incident Control Centre in Tauranga. |
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Incident Command Centre 12.30pm briefing of current situation. |
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Volunteer Rona Marie Otene helps ensure the beaches stay safe. |
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Clean-up teams getting briefed before the day's operations. |
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Reserve soldiers from Auckland cleaning Papamoa Beach after oil from the grounded vessel Rena reaches the shore. Private Clayton Mills and Lance Corporal Daniel Moyle rake oil for collection from the beach surface. |
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Oil booms being prepared at Maketu Estuary. |
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Clean-up crews hard at work cleaning the shores on Papamoa Beach. |
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Clean-up crews hard at work cleaning the shores on Papamoa Beach. |
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Spill responders working round the clock at the Incident Command Centre set up in Tauranga. |
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Clean-up crews hard at work patrolling and cleaning the shores of Tauranga. |
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Oil washing up on the shoreline of Tauranga. |
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Oil washing up on the shoreline of Tauranga. |
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Clean-up crews hard at work patrolling and cleaning the shores of Tauranga. |
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Public health signs are put up along the beach warning people to stay away from the water and shoreline. |
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Clean-up crews hard at work patrolling and cleaning the shores of Tauranga. |
