Two boaties were injured - but miraculously survived - when their launch was cut in two and sucked under the Waiheke ferry.

Police piecing together the fatal last minutes of the sunken trawler Oyang 70 are hoping to finish interviews with the surviving crew this week.

Crew of the Amaltal Atlantis rubbed warmth into the bodies of the rescued fisherman and gave up their clothing to keep them warm.

Heavy security surrounded the arrival of survivors from the sinking of the Oyang 70, with three crew taken to hospital. Photo / Simon Baker

The operator of a fishing ship is "shell-shocked" after three crew died and another three were lost, presumed dead, in waters off NZ.

A family spokesman says searchers have contacted a 16-year-old Southern California girl who was feared lost at sea and she is alive and well.

The environmental nightmare unleashed by the crippled BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has reached the white-sand paradises of Florida.

BP is done and dusted in the US, for a generation at least.