International researchers are coming together to investigate a powerful force that lurks hundreds of metres deep in the Tasman Sea.

The family of a 25-year-old man who went missing while snorkelling in Northland this afternoon are scouring the beach for any sign of him.

Off-duty lifeguards have saved two teenage girls caught in a rip and screaming for help.

Fears are growing for the lives of eight crewmen after a cargo ship overturned off the north coast of Scotland.

The Hauraki Gulf is at its most alluring - glassy calm and sparkling blue in the sunlight - and thousands of Aucklanders in small boats hover above the fishing reefs.

They died together and now two men caught up in a tragic boating accident in the Manukau Harbour this week will be farewelled together.

Following the sighting of a great white shark in Auckland this week, another family have reported seeing a great white "the size of a tractor" leaping from the water further up the coast.

A 25-year-old Auckland man drowned at Uretiti Beach, near Ruakaka in Northland yesterday, while setting a crab pot.

As thousands of holidaymakers get set to hit the beach and boaties prepare to launch, warnings are being issued about staying safe.

Four of the best photographers at the National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (NIWA) discuss their favourite shots.

As thousands of holidaymakers converge on Waiheke for the summer break, new details about a controversial proposal for the island's gateway can be revealed.

A world-class surfing spot and one of Northland's most picturesque strands of coastline are among more than 40 swimming beaches hit with a "caution" label for water quality.

Fourteen per cent of monitored beaches in New Zealand are classified as "high risk" for water quality issues.

New Zealand's maritime authority is investigating how shipping around our coasts can be made safer, after a high-level report into the Rena grounding.

The beleaguered Interislander ferry Aratere has been cleared to sail again tonight after the vessel suffered yet another technical fault today.

In the long story of the Hauraki Gulf, humans have been in the picture for mere moments.

In the second of the Sea Change series science reporter Jamie Morton looks at the health of the gulf’s fish populations.

Could teamwork deliver a plan to save the Hauraki Gulf for future generations? Science reporter Jamie Morton considers the issue.

Would-be seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources has dropped its appeal against its rejected proposal to vacuum ironsands off the ocean floor.

A company has abandoned a High Court appeal against a decision rejecting its application to mine up to 50 million tonnes of black sand off the West Coast seabed.