Oil being pumped from stricken ship in race against time

Oil is being pumped into inflatable barges from the log carrier Jody F Millennium, which is aground off Gisborne.

The Maritime Safety Authority says the operation could take as long as three days.

Stormy weather is forecast to return to the area on Thursday, putting added pressure on salvors working to refloat it.

At the weekend oil was pumped from the ruptured No 3 tank to higher compartments of the ship so the removal work could begin today.

Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) spokeswoman Helen Mojel said the work was under way and was going well at 8am.

The Korean-crewed 150m Jody ran aground on a sand bar last Wednesday night in 5m swells, just off Gisborne's Waikanae beach.

This morning the tug Pacific Chieftain arrived from New Plymouth. Ms Mojel said it would be used to stabilise the ship but she did not know if it would eventually be used to tow it.

Oil from the ship began leaking on Friday and despite the placement of absorbent oil booms around the slick, the fuel began washing up on the beach.

Wildlife was affected on Saturday when a boom protecting the nearby Turanganui River failed and an oily film could be seen in the Turanganui, Taruheru and Waimata Rivers.

Yesterday Ms Mojel said the flow had been slowed.

It was estimated that between 25 and 40 tonnes of a possible 184 tonnes had leaked into the water. The two other tanks appeared to be sound at this stage, she said.

Workers had begun taking the contaminated sand off the beach.

A MSA spokeswoman based in Gisborne said the oil pumped into the two barges would be transferred to HMNZS Endeavour about midday.

Meanwhile two birds rescued, a red-billed gull on Saturday and a shag yesterday, were being cared for at a Department of Conservation wildlife clean-up centre.

"It does take some time. They have to really settle them down first. It's not just a simple matter of de-oiling them and letting them go. They're pretty frightened," the spokeswoman said.

She said the oil smell at the beach had lessened. The public were still banned from the area.

Over the weekend 30cu m of oil and sand was lifted off the beach and is being stored in lined tanks. It will be sent to a decontaminated disposal site in Napier.

Between 600 and 800 litres of oil were collected by booms and would be sent to Auckland in a tanker.

Clearing work was continuing at the beach in calm, overcast conditions.

The clean-up and salvage operation has so far cost close to $200,000.

- NZPA

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