The captain of the stricken vessel MV Rena has been arrested and charged overnight.
Transport Minister Steven Joyce told Radio New Zealand the captain was to appear in the Tauranga District Court this morning.
Mr Joyce said the captain would be charged under section 65 of the Maritime Act and that more charges were likely to follow.
That's good news. There has been much angst in the media as to why no-one was being held to account for this incident; that angst at least can now be put to rest.
Now comes the far more important matter of minimising the environmental consequences of this dreadful situation. Armchair and keyboard experts have been quick to condemn the Government. Whether that condemnation is based on fact, emotion or the election will become apparent in time, and we have no knowledge whatsoever of this area, so we will not venture an opinion. However we would urge readers to check out Quintin Hogg's comment on this thread yesterday. It suggests that the issues involved are complex, and not able to be executed in haste.
In the meantime we can only hope that the experts can retain a measure of control as containers fall into the ocean, and the Rena is in danger of breaking up.
14 comments:
As important as the Rena disaster and the John Key led government's poor handling of this and many other issues throughout their term, is this: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10758381
Combined with the farcical epsom debacle, his throat slitting gesture and the lack of an economic plan (muddling is NOT a plan) , John Key has lost my vote.
I pray that God sees fit to not allow his environment to become sullied with too much oil.
Sad that a good many are making this Rena Disaster political. Right now, the ifs, buts etc are doing sip to getting this situation rectified...
The fallout to our wildlife, sea life, coast etc etc is going to be major...
Was the Astrolabe reef marked with a buoy carrying a radar reflector?
The irresponsibility may not lie entirely with the captain asthe media seems to assume.
The Astrolabe Reef is not marked on the relevant chart nor is it mentioned in the light list.
I should say not marked as having a navigation aid such as a bouy or light.
it is clearly marked on the chart.
seems it's all John Keys fault. If only Phil Goff was PM aye
This oil spill is seriously staining our clean, green image abroad.
Bad for tourism. Bad for perishable exports. Bad for the environment.
I hear the Greens are beside themselves over the stranding of the Rena. They have been pushing coastal shipping as a preferred means of transport, apart from walking of course, and now we have NZs biggest environmental disaster on our hands. How will they spin out of this one? I know, attack oil exploration .. oh, and John Key
On that we can agree Robert; and minimising the damage should be the primary concern now. Apportioning blame will have its place, but the more immediate need is to clean up the mess, and limit the adverse effects.
Where are the owners of this frigging boat. They have been as quiet as church mice from day one of this fiasco.
I assume they will get a sizeable bill for this or will muggins the taxpayer have to pony up some loot?
ayyyyy Lindsay, you think we owners don't know how to deal wid this little problem??
You think we know fuck nothing???
Well I can tell you.. we know fuck all!!!
ciao
Thermopile Flopodopolous
Lindsay,
Owners and Insurers are responsible under part 25 of the MTA for costs associated with the fuel discharge.
The representatives of those parties have been on site since the casualty occured.
I was given a gross figure of about $50mil last week before the bad weather arrived.
The numbers will have changed i suspect.
Robert,
The casualty is a disaster. We will be measured by our response to it.
Combined with farcical leadership, his reaction to so called throat slitting gesture and the lack of an economic plan, Phil Goff has lost my vote.
Right Leaning my ass!
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