New Zealand's worst maritime pollution disaster ran aground

[devance]

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-10-oil-slick-ship-ran-aground.html

Compared with some of the world's worst oil spills, the disaster remains small -- the Exxon Valdez which ran aground in 1989 in Alaska dumped 37,000 tonnes of oil into Prince William Sound.

But it is significant because of the pristine nature of New Zealand's Bay of Plenty, which contains marine reserves and wetlands and teems with wildlife including whales, dolphins, penguins, seals and rare sea birds.

Anger is mounting in New Zealand over the fuel leak, with popular beaches on the North Island's east coast coated in oil and off-limits to the public, and more than 1,000 dead and oil-soaked birds recovered.

Edited October 16, 2011 by devance

[ErraneousHerbalist]

I guess it'll be another reason for them not to extract oil from the west coast. It's a sorry thing to hear about the deaths of the birds. Let's hope there has been no deaths in the Hector/Maui dolphin population.