Tai Ping crew move fuel to reduce pollution risk

5.45pm

Salvors today began pumping heavy fuel oil from the bottom tanks of the stranded bulk carrier Tai Ping to tanks higher in the ship to prepare for an attempt to tow the vessel off rocks near Bluff harbour.

Lindsay Sturt, a spokesman for the Maritime Safety Authority, told NZPA the pumping was likely to continue until about midday tomorrow.

Salvors were still completing a plan for approval by the MSA and side-scanning radar equipment was due from Australia today that would help provide a picture of the seabed where the ship was trapped.

The 16,000-tonne Tai Ping ran on to rocks as it was attempting to leave Bluff harbour on Tuesday in thick fog.

MSA director Russell Kilvington said the ship could stay wedged in rocks for another five days until it was considered safe to move without any pollution disaster.

A row flared again today between the MSA and Chris Rabbidge, a representative of the ship's owners Fenwick Shipping Services over when to refloat the Tai Ping, which is carrying urea fertiliser for Southland farms.

Mr Rabbidge claimed the ship floated free twice yesterday during each high tide.

The MSA said Mr Rabbidge was talking nonsense and that the ship could not be towed free until there was negligible risk of an oil leak.

Dutch salvors were today preparing a salvage plan which they will present to the ship's owners in Hong Kong and for MSA for approval.

Mr Rabbidge said there were "plenty of opportunities" to get the ship off the rocks.

He believed the ship could be removed from the rocks at the next high tide.

"It's getting to the stage where it's almost difficult to keep her there. It can be removed when MSA give us the green light," he said on National Radio today.

"The Jody F Millennium is a classic case of what happens if you leave a ship aground too long," he said, referring to the log carrier which ran aground off Gisborne earlier this year.

"'The risk of pollution happening is increasing dramatically the longer the ship stays on those rocks."

MSA director Russell Kilvington said he did not know whether to "laugh or cry" when he heard Mr Rabbidge's comments today.

He said he thought he had dealt with Mr Rabbidge's "wild and erroneous comments" yesterday.

Mr Kilvington told NZPA the ship was not in any danger of smashing up in pounding seas like the Jody F Millennium.

"Mr Rabbidge, who wanted to dump urea into Bluff Harbour, is in a fantasy world.

"MSA is not the salvor and nor is Fenwick Shipping.

"We're looking at a salvage attempt possibly tomorrow but salvors were talking to me yesterday after Tuesday or Wednesday."

Mr Kilvington said the only pollution risk would come when attempts would be made to move the ship.

"The only risk will come when you try and move it especially when you have to get it out of its own coffin and get it over the top of hazardous rocks."

He said the MSA and salvors did not want "mavericks behind a desk in Sydney" talking nonsense.

The weather had deteriorated in Bluff today which was not suitable for removing the urea cargo off the ship.

The ship was carrying 9535 tonnes of urea fertiliser and about 350 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and diesel. Some of the urea has been removed.

The MSA's investigation into the grounding was continuing and an investigator had been aboard the ship today interviewing crew.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission is also investigating the grounding and seeing if the carrier was too low in the water, causing it be wedged in rocks.

- NZPA

Further reading
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