Oil Spill Declared New Zealand's Worst Ever

A cargo ship that's been stuck in a reef for a week has begun to spew out oil five times faster due to a shift last night.

An oil spill off the northeast coast of New Zealand has been declared the country's worst ever maritime environmental disaster, with rough sea conditions making it even more difficult to stop the cargo ship Rena from leaking hundreds of tons of oil. The ship somehow hit a reef about 22 kilometres off the coast of the city of Tauranga last Wednesday, despite the conditions at the time being calm and clear and the reef being clearly marked on navigational charts. The Rena, owned by Greek shipping company Costamare, had been steadily leaking about 70 tons of oil a day since running aground. But choppy seas shifted the Rena on Monday, and now a new leak is spewing up to 350 tons of oil out a day. The conditions have prevented crews from boarding the Rena to help curb the leak. Oil is now washing ashore along the North Island's coast around Tauranga, a tourist destination and home to the country's largest port. At least 53 birds have already been found dead nearby, and environmentalists are sounding the alarm over the threat posed to seals and the endangered New Zealand dotterel, a local seabird.