A Royal Navy sub was sent on a Cold War mission to spy on its own side to prove that crews could safely carry out surveillance of the Russian fleet.

Beachgoers are being urged to stay safe this summer, with lifeguards already gearing up this long weekend. A special pre-season rescue exercise was held yesterday at Muriwai Beach to show the work lifeguards do while on duty. Volunteers used inflatable boats, jet skis and other life-saving equipment in the choppy waters to demonstrate a rescue.

The decision to ban a US theme and marine park from breeding orca in captivity is a historic move, says New Zealand orca expert Dr Ingrid Visser.

Dr Tom Trnski, head of natural science at Auckland Museum thinks that our marine systems could recover if humans back off.

I run an asset management firm and hear terrible advice that our prospective clients have received elsewhere.

While most teenagers spend their spare time checking their Facebook updates, Yasmine Dai has been more interested in staring into murky tanks of sea water.

Kiwis tired of getting their fancy boat shoes wet when launching the dinghy down the boatramp, or those who envisage driving to Waiheke for the day, are in luck.

Passengers on the boat that capsized near Greece, and claimed the life of a toddler, say the toddler's father was working with smugglers and driving the boat.

The wreck could pave the way to a bright and prosperous future, but a golden opportunity could easily be squandered if the wrong decisions are made, writes Roger Grace.

Ask your average Tauranga local about the Rena and you'll find they haven't thought about that not-too-distant hunk of steel in a long time.

When it comes to good manners, the Pacific striped octopus may be the king of the ocean.

The mystery boatie featured in yesterday's amazing dolphin photo has been found, but says he missed the perfect shot because he was too close to the action.

Denis O'Callahan says he "got lucky" when he snapped this picture of a pair of dolphins diving out of the water at Omaha Beach, north of Auckland.

A surfer's desperate attempt to fight off a shark that was mauling him has been described as a "Mick Fanning replay" by a friend who witnessed the attack.

It's ranked the ninth largest in the world, and boasts an on-deck jacuzzi, six swimming pools, a gym, a helipad and a helicopter hanger.

Andy Casagrande captures some incredible 4K footage and gives us a unique point-of-view from a great hammerhead shark's dorsal fin as it swims along the ocean floor. Source: GoPro/Youtube

Sam Judd is the co-founder of Sustainable Coastlines, an organisation that works with businesses, school kids and criminals to educate, plant trees and clean up our coastlines.

The World Wildlife Fund Australia captured from a GoPro attached to the back of a turtle as it dove through the waters over Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The video, which gives a turtle's-eye view of the coral system is being used to highlight the level of pollution affecting turtles in Australian waters. Source: WWF Australia/Facebook

A suggestion from his wife led to a Kiwi inventor spending years automating one key 'manly' function.

Two Kiwi sailors had just seconds to grab life jackets and abandon their burning yacht after being woken by their skipper at midnight.

Bay of Plenty Maori say they have been offered thousands of dollars to withdraw their opposition to leaving the Rena on Astrolabe Reef.

Since becoming New Zealand's first marine reserve in 1975, Goat Island has proven to be worth its weight in gold - and snapper.

They washed in by the thousands: tiny red crabs covering the Orange County shoreline much further north than their typical home.

The New Zealand Navy seized about $235 million of high-grade heroin - then let the smugglers free and hosed the drugs into the ocean.

Giant waves which pounded houses, spat up boulders and trapped a vehicle on Wellington's south coast could return today.

Car batteries, coffee cups and condoms - welcome to the underwater junkyard that lies just off our city beaches.

Researchers have linked an ancient marine dolphin fossil, found in Waitaki, with an endangered dolphin that lives in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.