Gare, Jonashil Rios
MT32-B2
Viewpoint
M/V Rena grounded on Astrolabe Reef
This vessel named M/V Rena with a 236 meters long PANAMAX container ship was aground in Astrolabe Reef in New Zealand on October 5, 2012 at 0220H while sailing from NAPIER to TAURANGA. The ship was carrying 1,368 containers, eight of which contained hazardous materials, as well as 1,700 tons of heavy fuel oil and 200 tons of marine diesel. This incident considered as the unfavorable maritime accident in the year of 2012.
According to the reports, M/V Rena had left the New Zealand port of Napier at 1020H on October 4 2012 and was the bound for the New Zealand port of Tauranga. The Master calculated the ETA by dividing the distance for the unfavorable currents that normally …show more content…
Later on the Master had been woken and arrived on the bridge to prepare arrival at the port.
According to the New Zealand’s coast guard noticed that the main reason why the ship being grounded, it because of human error which the master and duty officer was failed to follow the proper voyage planning, navigation and watch keeping practices and the ship manager’s insufficient oversight of vessel’s safety management system that led to the grounding of the ship.
New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission made a reports regarding to this incident, and they discuss also the reason why the ship was aground, because the ship has a full of speed of 17 knots and the duty officer which is the second mate and engineer did not controlled the engine that’s why the ship hit and stuck at Astrolabe Reef.
On October 12, 2012 the heavy weather is starting to pick up and this is the time that ship was started to list heavily, losing cargo which is the containers with 200 tons of heavy fuel oil were spilled in the accident that’s why some marine animals are being affected which has many died of marine animals because of oil …show more content…
An estimate of 20,000 birds are thought to be victims of the oil spill through their ecosystem and food sources being contaminated. One outcome that is not yet determined is the effect on the ocean's ecosystems in the area of where the Rena spilled the oil.

Rob Zuur explains "it would take years to know the full impact of the oil spill on the Bay of Plenty’s of ecosystems, which also contains huge marine kelp forests and is home to a large fishing industry.Filter-feeding whales are at risk from sticky oil clinging to their baleen plates as they feed" said Al Fleming, Tauranga-based Central North Island field officer of New Zealand. According to Fleming, the oil's effect on finfish, shellfish, crustaceans and other marine life could be disastrous.

In addition, the oil will affect birds and marine mammals by ingestion, and bio-accumulation whereby the toxicity of the oil can be responsible for long or short term