Photo: MNZ

In early October,  the container ship MV Rena ran hard aground on the Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga, New Zealand, resulting in an oil spill which the New Zealand Environment minister Nick Smith has referred to as the country’s most serious maritime environmental disaster in history.   In March, New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) determined that the casualty was caused by the captain taking a “short cut” to beat a deadline. The captain and navigating officer have pleaded guilty to mishandling the vessel and tampering with the ship’s documents after the crash. They are likely to be sentenced on May 25.  This week Daina Shipping Company, the owner of the ship, has been charged by Maritime New Zealand under section 338 (1B) and 15(B) of the Resource Management Act 1991, which relates to the “discharge of harmful substances from ships” in the coastal marine area.  Also last week, the stern of the container ship sank in high seas. The bow of the Rena remains stranded on Astrolabe reef.