Pollution

Citation

(2002), "Pollution", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 11 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2002.07311eac.002

Pollution

Pollution

11 January 2002 – Eurobulker X (Cambodia)

A report in the 11 January edition of Newsfront states: an official report now with the Halkis prosecutor's office describes the ill-fated 26-year-old bulk Eurobulker X as "unseaworthy" at the time of her loss in September 2000, and opines that the vessel should never have been allowed to sail. Excerpts from the report, compiled after a 15-month investigation into why the vessel broke her back and sank while loading cement at a terminal in the Bay of Lefkandi, were published by the Athens daily Ethnos shortly before the new year. A Ukranian seafarer among the 16-man crew was killed in the accident, which caused one of the worst-ever environmental disasters along the north Attica coastline. As quoted by the newspaper, the report describes the general condition of the Stavros Ilias-owned vessel as ranging from average to poor, while parts of her steel structure are said to have been almost totally wasted away. The report contends that "the management and operation of Eurobulker X was most careless, possibly motivated by the desire to make the greatest possible profit". Steel plating in the lower decks is said to have been 30-40 percent wasted away and in need of replacement, while the vessel's upper ballast tanks had deteriorated by 50 percent to as much as 100 percent. The vessel's Ukranian master is described as lacking formal qualifications, and the inquiry report is critical of the Halkis Cement company's loading procedures which had led in this case to the cargo being loaded midships, with outlying holds left empty. The owner and the master of Eurobulker X were in February 2001 fined Drs128m ($346,000) by a Halkis court in connection with the sinking of the cement carrier and subsequent pollution. Five others have been charged over the incident, including the vessel's second mate and the person held responsible for authorising the vessel to sail after she underwent repairs at Avlis Shipyard, near Halkis, which is itself run by Stavros Ilias group interests.

15 January 2002 – Amorgos (Greece)

On the first anniversary of an oil spill caused by the Greek-registered bulk Amorgos, Hau Lung-bin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), yesterday vowed to seek NT $l billion (US$28.7 million) in compensation from the ship's owner. After integrating surveys by a number of government agencies on the clean-up, ecological damage and estimated expenses for future ecological restoration, the EPA yesterday released an estimate of the total loss to the public sector stemming from the accident of NT$1 billion, considerably less than was expected. Previously, the Construction and Planning Administration estimated that the cost of damage to coastal coral reefs in Kenting National Park alone amounted to some NT$6 billion. EPA officials, however, said the NT$1 billion estimate was more accurate and that the amount has been verified by British Maritime Technology, a leading international consultancy. The EPA has authorized the Lee and Li law firm to negotiate with Assuranceforeningen Gard-Gjensidig, the ship's insurance company, whose representatives are expected to arrive Taiwan by the end of this month. "We hope to reach an acceptable agreement on compensation within three months of the start of negotiations. Otherwise, we won't discount the possibility of filing a lawsuit either in Taiwan or in Norway, where the insurance company's headquarters is registered", Hau said. Hau also announced yesterday that 14 January would be made Taiwan's Maritime Disaster Day in remembrance of the Amorgos catastrophe. The Amorgos oil spill was the first case Taiwan faced since the Ocean Pollution Control Law went into effect the previous November. Governmental agencies' lack of experience in cooperating with each other exacerbated the disaster, affecting some of Taiwan's most beautiful and ecologically important coastlines. Former EPA Administrator Lin Jun-yi resigned last March amid harsh criticism from the public. To improve Taiwan's ability to deal with oil spills, the EPA last year appropriated NT $180 million for purchasing facilities and establishing training programs. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transportation & Communications (MOTC) has revised the Amorgos wreck-removal plan. The original plan became unfeasible after the wreck broke up and sank after typhoons last summer. MOTC officials said yesterday that the remains on the sea floor would pose no danger of environmental pollution because fuel oil and the cargo of iron ore had been removed from the vessel earlier. Officials said, however, that a new salvage plan would be carried out in March to remove unstable remains by the end of July in order to ensure fishermen's safety.

18 April 2002 – The Environmental Protection Administration said yesterday that Taiwan has received NT$61.3 million in compensation for the clean-up of an oil spill, caused last year by bulk Amorgos. The payment marks the first time the nation has received compensation for marine pollution. The compensation is for the clean-up only and does not include damages or lawyers' fees. "The real battle has just begun. We will continue to demand around NT$900 million in compensation, for damages, from the insurance company", said EPA administrator Hau Lung-bin at a press conference yesterday. "We have no doubt that the polluters will pay the price", Hau said. Yesterday's sum was the result of long-term negotiations between Taiwan and the ship's insurance company, the Assuranceforeningen Gard-Gjensidig. The EPA's estimate of the money spent on cleaning up the spill – based on reports from different agencies, including the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Council of Agriculture, the Construction and Planning Administration and the Pingtung County Government – came to about NT$93 million. Coordinated by the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd, the EPA and the insurance company reached a conclusion that NT$61.3 million should be paid to Taiwan for the clean-up. The EPA said the difference in the compensation paid and the EPA's original estimate could be attributed to differing views between the two parties over unit prices for various aspects of the clean-up. Hau said that seeking compensation for damages would be more challenging than for the clean-up because the losses are more difficult to estimate. Hau said he hopes to receive the compensation by the end of this year. "I have to say that money cannot make up for damaged environment", Hau said, adding that if no conclusion is made by this year, Taiwan might file a lawsuit in Norway, where the insurance company is registered. As for losses to the fishing industry, EPA officials said that the Pingtung District Fishermen's Association had decided to seek compensation on its own and not through governmental channels. The wreck of Amorgos is still at the bottom of waters off Kenting. The original wreck-removal plan was deemed unfeasible after it broke up and sank after typhoons last summer. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications has not yet decided as to whether a new wreck-removal plan should be pursued. Ministry officials said that the remains pose no environmental risk, because the vessel's fuel oil and cargo of iron ore have already been removed.

23 April 2002 – Taiwan is to press for a US$25.8m payment in extra compensation for the fuel oil spilled in its waters by bulk Amorgos. Managed by Ermis Maritime, the vessel broke up during the lunar new year holiday in January 2001, leaking 1,000 tonnes of bunkers near beauty spots and fishing areas. A political storm ensued over the efficiency of the emergency operation, and the environment minister lost his job. Norwegian-based protection and indemnity club Gard, which provides cover for the vessel's owner, has agreed to pay T$61.3m (US$1.75m) for the clean-up. This followed negotiations involving the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation, and Taiwan's Environmental Protection Agency. It was said to be the first time that Taiwan, which is unable to sign liability conventions because it is outside the United Nations, has received such compensation. Agency administrator Hau Lung-bin said he would press for a further T$900m in damages, and unless a settlement were reached by the end of this year, might file a lawsuit in Norway. A Gard official said the ship-owner had yet to be notified of a figure. The fishing industry is pursuing its claims separately. It is hoped to use a "weather window" between the north-east monsoon and the typhoon season to begin removing the bow and stern of the vessel, but a decision has still to be taken on clearing the remainder. The southernmost tip of Taiwan is subject to extreme weather changes.

19 January 2002 – Eastern Fortitude (Panama)

A 5km long oil slick between Sattahip to Rayong Bay is proving difficult to contain after chemical tank Eastern Fortitude (5372 gt, built 2000) hit a rock on Tuesday (15 January). Oil slick cleaners from Singapore and the navy's First Fleet were battling to control the spill in an effort to limit the damage to marine life and tourism. The tanker hit a rock en route from Bangkok Port to Map Ta Pud industrial estate. Vice-Adm. Akanik Muensri, the First Fleet commander, said cleaning efforts were hampered by the lack of disposal chemicals. He said the slick was at its worst east of Juang and Jan islands and drifting south of Map Ta Pud port. It was five nautical miles from shore and could reach land in a few days if disposal efforts were not quick enough. About 40 percent of the slick was cleaned, Vice-Adm. Akanik said, and the complete disposal would take about a week. The spill was being carried by wind and surging tides and posed grave environment threats to turtle breeding grounds, corals, and other marine life. It also threatens the beaches of Ko Samet. Nisakorn Kositratna, deputy director-general of the Pollution Control Department, said it was too late to deal with the spill with chemicals since the bunker oil had become solidified. "We were informed of the spillage too late", she said. The accident occurred on Tuesday but officials were only told yesterday. The navy said the tanker also contained diesel oil, which would evaporate quickly and not cause too much damage. The spill covered one square kilometre and was expected to wash onto the beaches in Rayong. Ms Nisakorn said emergency response teams were told to control and limit the area of the spill by using booms, bubble-like plastic floats used to corral the solid oil.

20 January 2002 – The oil slick off the coast of Rayong will be completely cleared in a few days, the commander of the First Fleet said. Rear-Admiral Kampanart Pucharoenyot said two naval ships and another vessel were cleaning up the 243,000 litres of crude oil which leaked from chemical tank Eastern Fortitude. The slick, covering 2km² south of Map Ta Phut port, was expected to be cleared in two or three days. He said clearance teams from the Navy, the Harbour Department, the Map Ta Phut industrial estate, IESG Group, and TPI Group Rayong could clean up the slick and prevent its spread. Chemical foam could not effectively clean up the oil since the slick was very sticky, like gel. A Harbour Department expert said most of the oil found off Chon Buri's Sattahip district and Rayong's Ban Chang district was cleared.

22 January 2002 – Oil from chem. tank Eastern Fortitude has washed onto Mae Lamphueng beach in Rayong despite efforts to contain it. Authorities say it is the worst oil slick in the area in five years. It poses a grave threat to turtle breeding grounds, coral and other marine life. Kannika Boontanont, of the Harbour Department, said emergency response teams deploying booms and plastic floats kept the worst of the slick from the beach. A close watch was being kept to ensure no more oil reached the shore. The department had lodged a complaint against the master, Ms Kannika said. He faced a possible three years in prison and/or a fine of 60,000 baht. The department would not compromise in this case, because the master waited two days to inform the authorities of the spill, making the task of containing much more difficult. "The fact that he failed to tell authorities has made it the worst oil slick in five years", she said. There was no indication how long the clean-up would take. Prasert Jaemkrajang, chairman of the Rayong business and tourism association, said local operators could be hard hit by the spill.

22 January 2002 – Thai navy personnel are struggling to clean up a 200,000-litre oil slick that threatens to pollute a popular island beach resort in eastern Thailand. The oil leaked from chem. tank Eastern Fortitude, which hit rocks last Tuesday (15 January) in the Gulf of Thailand, off the coast of Chon Buri province. Officials say it will take at least ten more days to clean up the slick, which is 60m wide and about 4km long. The slick has passed through an area of more than 25 miles, moving east to Rayong province, he said. Oil swept ashore at Mae Rampung tourist beach in Rayong early today, and the slick was now only nine miles from Koh Samet, a resort island close to the coast. A combined task force of about 100 people from the Thai Navy, the Harbour Department and local volunteers were using chemicals to disperse the oil at sea and were scraping contaminated sands where the slick had reached the shore. The Harbour Department has ordered Eastern Fortitude, which remains where she hit rocks off Chon Buri province, impounded and has filed a complaint to police as the first step in taking legal action against the tanker's owners. The vessel was insured with Britannia in London, which has agreed to pay compensation for the damage caused by the oil spill, including the cost of clean-up and for pollution of the environment.

22 January 2002 – A huge oil slick has hit beaches in Thailand's Rayong Bay, a popular holiday spot south-east of the capital Bangkok. Charnchai Doungjithe, the director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, says more than 100 volunteers from the Royal Navy, local schools and government offices are working to clean up the mess. "The oil has been washed ashore on a stretch of beach more than 5km long", he said. Around 100,000 litres of oil spilled from the chemical tank Eastern Fortitude, when she hit a rock in Rayong Bay a week ago. The oil was carried towards the coast by winds and surging tides. Authorities have struggled to clean up the slick, which is estimated to now be at least 400m wide and about 3km long. They complain they were not alerted to the accident until it was too late. Yesterday the slick reached the beautiful Ramphung and Ban Kon Ao beaches on the Rayong coast, which are popular destinations for both foreign tourists and Bangkok residents on weekend get-aways.

23 January 2002 – The navy has joined the battle to keep a large oil slick away from beaches, coral reefs and marine breeding grounds off Rayong and Koh Samet. The oil is already washing up on beaches in Rayong, although emergency teams hope to contain the worst of it. Navy personnel had joined staff from the Harbour Department, Rayong province and oil companies, said Rear-Admiral Kampanart Pucharoenyost, chief-of-staff of the First Fleet. One team was mopping up oil along the Rayong coast, and a second was working out at sea where navy helicopters were keeping track of the slick. Northerly winds are blowing the oil from Samae Sarn bay in Sattahip, Chon Buri, to Map Ta Phut, Mae Ramphueng, Kon Ao, Ban Pay and TPI beaches. The spill is also approaching Samet island.

23 January 2002 – Thailand's navy said today that a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Thailand would take at least a week to clean up, but was unlikely to spread to Koh Samet Island. The slick has been stationary for two days and is unlikely to drift towards the island, according to a naval spokesman. The Royal Thai navy had joined local officials and volunteers in cleaning up the oil that washed ashore along a 10km (6-mile) stretch of Mae Ramphung beach, south-east of Bangkok. The navy has deployed 11 vessels, including those from the government's harbour department, equipped with booms to contain the oil, which had separated into two major slicks at Mae Rumphung and nearby Mab Taphut seaport. The oil spilled from chemical tank Eastern Fortitude. Authorities have struggled to clean up the slick, but complained they were not alerted to the accident until too late. Tourist authorities in the areas affected by the slick have said they will lodge complaints with police, as evidence to be used in a lawsuit against the vessel's owner.

24 January 2002 – Samet Island in Rayong province is safe from the threat of an approaching oil slick, says the navy. "Now there should not be any problem to the island since we have already blocked it", said Vice-Admiral Aganit Muensri, commander of the First Fleet. The slick covered an area of about six nautical miles. However, clean-up teams were unable to stop the oil reaching Mae Rampheung beach, which is closer to the spill than Samet. The beach was scattered with black lumps of solidified oil. The oil had contaminated a 10km stretch of coastline. Some 14,000 litres of solid oil had been collected with the help of booms and plastic floats. However, as the slick drifted north-east, it had also washed onto Chuan Island, where the pebble-strewn landscape dragged out the clean-up process. Some 20,000 litres of floating oil has also been taken from the sea.

28 January 2002 – Black tar balls on Mae Rampueng beach have been cleared, but the clean-up from last week's oil spillage is still under way on two beaches in Ban Chang district. Ban Chang district chief Chatri Manasonthi examined Nam Rin and Phala beaches, where volunteers are still at work, on Saturday (26 January). Tourists were reportedly staying away for fear of contamination. About 100 volunteers were clearing oil from the beaches and the sea. More than 5 tonnes of oil has been collected, although traces of oil slick can still be seen 2km from the shore. Volunteers, Navy and Harbour Department workers deployed booms and plastic floats to control the spread of the oil slick, which at one point covered a 10km stretch of coastline and threatened the resort island of Samet. About 243,000 litres of crude oil was released off the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand after chemical tank Eastern Fortitude hit a rock en route from Bangkok to Map Ta Phut industrial estate on 15 January.

30 January 2002 – A Thai court has convicted the master of chemical tank Eastern Fortitude, which spilled thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Thailand, with recklessness and jailed him for six months. Jesus Monserate, the Filipino master of Eastern Fortitude, was handed the six-month jail term by a Pattaya court late yesterday after he pleaded guilty to the charge, court officials said. "He was immediately escorted to prison as he did not post bail", they said. The clean-up effort along the shoreline of two provinces, Chon Buri and Rayong, was nearly finished, they added.

31 January 2002 – Thailand's Harbour Department will seek about 2 billion baht in compensation from chemical tank Eastern Fortitude, which caused the worst oil slick on the Eastern Seaboard for five years. The vessel's Filipino master, Jesus Monserate, was yesterday sentenced to six months in jail for failing to promptly report the spill. The vessel hit a rock at Sa Mae San bay off Sattahip, Chon Buri, on 15 January, dumping 243,000 litres of low-speed diesel oil into the sea. The master did not report it for two days, in violation of Thai maritime law. The slick spread 7 nautical miles along the coastline, causing severe pollution and posing a grave threat to marine life and coral reefs. Oil washed ashore on many beaches in neighbouring Rayong province before it could be contained, but emergency teams did manage to prevent it spreading to Ko Samet in Rayong. Sub-Lt Sanchai Kulpreecha, Harbour Department deputy director-general, said a panel would be set up to study the ecological and geographical damage from the spill. The tanker had US$50 million (about 2 billion baht) insurance cover with the British firm Britannia Club. Thailand will probably push for the maximum payment. Most of the spill has now been cleaned up. A total of 74 tonnes of oil were removed from Rayong beaches and the Gulf, most of it during an emergency three-day clean-up operation. It will be sent to Genco for disposal.

1 February 2002 – Local newspapers have reported that about 243,000 litres of low-speed diesel oil from chemical tank Eastern Fortitude leaked into the sea, but that most of the spill has been cleaned up. It was further reported that the Filipino master of the vessel Jesus Monserate was sentenced to six months in jail for failing to promptly report the spill.

10 February 2002 – In a precedent-setting action for Thailand, chemical tank Eastern Fortitude, which spilled 240 tonnes of oil off the east coast, may be asked to pay for damages to the environment and local businesses. Sub-Lt Sanchai Kulpreecha, deputy director-general of the Harbour Department, said the state usually asked only for clean-up expenses. This time, however, the government was keen on compensation, to show it was serious about protecting the environment. Owners of the vessel may be asked to pay for damage caused to nature, tourism and the fishing industry. The tanker hit rocks near Sa Mae San Bay in Rayong's Sattahip district on 15 January, spilling 240 tonnes of low-speed diesel oil into the sea. The oil spread seven nautical miles along the eastern coast. Four teams of environmentalists, insurance experts and business representatives have been formed to assess the damage in addition to clean-up expenses, Sub-Lt Sanchai said. People running tourist resorts, coastal factories and local fishermen would be asked to provide evidence to back a compensation claim. "We will look at international law to seek the maximum compensation available for short-term and long-term impact from the oil pollution", said Sub-Lt Sanchai. The oil spill washed ashore at some beaches and clogged up the gear of some fishing boats. Initial clean-up costs were put at 38 million baht. Pichit Mekkittikul, managing director of Independent Consultant dealing in insurance, said Thailand should think about demanding compensation since oil tankers usually buy special insurance packages for such damages. Tankers were required to buy insurance to cover maritime accidents and pollution resulting from them. The vessel is a member of the Britannia Club. The company had already written to the department informing it that compensation of up to 2 billion baht was payable.

7 February 2002 – Jody F. Millennium (Panama)

An attempt is expected to be made mid-afternoon today to re-float bulk Jody F. Millennium (15,071gt, built 2000), stranded firmly off Gisborne. The vessel, with 19 crew, was forced ashore by heavy swells about 23.00, last night after being driven out of the port's harbour channel by 5m swells. Tugs could not get alongside the vessel because of the swells, spawned by a strong southerly and the worst seen for years. The vessel put out her anchors after grounding outside the port but during the night dragged 500m and this morning was stuck fast on a sandy bottom in 8m of water about 1,500m off Gisborne's popular Midway Beach. Port Gisborne manager Ben Tahata said it was likely an attempt would be made by tugs to pull the vessel free at high tide about 15.00, today. "She's firmly aground but appears to be undamaged and is not leaking fuel", he told NZPA. He added it had been reported that one or two logs had been washed overboard and floated ashore during the night – "but nothing major". Mr Tahata said the bulk carrier still had another 4,000 tonnes of logs to load last night when the drama began. By 22.00 the swells had developed to 5m, the worst we have seen for many years and conditions became such that it was impossible to continue working the vessel. "It was decided to move her out of port to anchor overnight in the bay until the swell subsided." But once at the channel mouth and the port entrance the swell caught the vessel and she grounded. The vessel's master called for help from the port's two tugs but the smaller vessels could not get aside to put lines on board. During the night the vessel dragged her anchor to the point where she is today. "She's stuck fast but is not listing and the swell has fallen to 1m from 1.5m this morning", Mr Tahata said. "I expect the tugs will try and re-float her this afternoon at high tide". Mr Tahata added an offer had been made to take the crew off but they opted to remain on board. He said the crew was safe and the master was awaiting instructions on salvage attempts. Meanwhile, the Gisborne Herald quoted Mr Tahata as saying he understood the Maritime Safety Authority had been in touch with tugs in other centres for assistance in a re-floating attempt. A firm decision on a high-tide salvage attempt was expected to be made late this morning. Salvage experts were due to fly to Gisborne from Auckland, arriving mid-morning. Mr Tahata said tugs were used yesterday afternoon to hold the vessel against the overseas berth because her lines had broken. But the swell surge increased and later the decision to take the vessel out was made. The swell had caused damage in the port last night with fishing boats having to be secured again after lines broke. Witnesses told reporters today they watched early today as pounding seas repeatedly struck the vessel, hitting the bridge and as spray flew higher than the vessel's mast. Crowds lined the foreshore from dawn today watching waves continuing to drive against the vessel, even though the tide was low. Logs strewn across the beach showed the force of the sea last night. The tugs Thrihaua and Titirangi tried and failed to get alongside the vessel to try to free her at high tide at 02.30, today. The vessel tried, herself, engines in reverse, but the vessel didn't budge. Jody F. Millennium is stranded in about 8.5m of water. It's thought her rudder was damaged when she ran aground. The unusually big swells caused problems as early as yesterday afternoon with waves breaking across Butler's Wall and smashing into the reclamation area in front of the log marshalling yards.

7 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium is currently aground in sand off Gisborne port. The vessel has lost about 50 logs overboard. Damage to the vessel is not known. Two local tugs are arriving on scene this afternoon, but there are doubts whether they are equipped to re-float the vessel.

7 February 2002 – A total of 19 crew on board stricken bulk Jody F. Millennium may need to spend a second night stranded off the Gisborne coast after their vessel ran aground in ferocious seas late last night. Australian salvage experts were due in Gisborne to make another attempt to free the vessel that has run aground close to a popular Gisborne beach. Stormy seas forced Jody F. Millennium into shallow water and several attempts to free the vessel have failed. The drama unfolded amid 1m swells in Port Gisborne, causing the vessel to crash against the wharf. The situation became so bad that the master decided to move the vessel into Poverty Bay. Ben Tahata, chief executive officer at Port Gisborne, said the vessel was hit by a 5m swell and then went aground in the shallow channel. Because of the swells the tugs that went to help were unable to assist. The rudder and propeller may be damaged. The vessel is loaded with logs bound for Asia, but not all the cargo stayed on board. However, the crew have remained throughout the ordeal. Attempts to pull the vessel free at high tide this afternoon were aborted. Maritime officials are confident the hull will remain intact.

7 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium was making a dash for safety when she grounded perilously close to Gisborne's foreshore. Loaded with 20,000 tonnes of logs, the vessel left in a hurry on Wednesday (6 February) as 5m swells pounded the harbour, smashing a 75-year-old building and threatening to drive the vessel on to smaller boats berthed in the harbour. Port manager Ben Tahata said the order to leave was given soon after five wire ropes holding the vessel to the port's No. 8 berth snapped, putting port workers' lives at risk. Port authorities confirmed last night that the rudders of the vessel might have been damaged by striking something in the port's dredged shipping channel. The Maritime Safety Authority began an investigation yesterday, sending four staff to Gisborne to ask questions about the grounding of the vessel. Authority director Russell Kilvington said it would also look for oil spills from the vessel. None had been reported so far. It is believed that information the investigators will want includes the vessel's position when she lost her ability to steer. Mr Tahata said Adsteam – the Australian-owned company that runs a port tug and pilot boat – believed the vessel was outside the port channel. But Mr Tahata said there was confusion over the issue. The channel is 92m wide and runs about 1km out to deeper water in Poverty Bay. The vessel was sailed close to 1km out by the master after the port pilot left, Mr Tahata said. Napier-based Seatrans, the agents for the ship's owners refused to comment yesterday on what the master had said about the stranding and loss of steering. Mr Tahata said once the vessel lost her steering she was driven on to shallow ground south of the port where the master dropped anchor. Swells smashed against the vessel, sending water 30m into the air. The vessel dragged her anchor 500m during the night. Salvage experts were flown into Gisborne to advise on how to rescue the vessel. There appeared to be little risk of the vessel breaking up and polluting the Waikanae and Midway beaches off which she was anchored, Mr Tahata said.

8 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium: United Salvage Limited, New Zealand, have been appointed the vessel's salvors. United Salvage are assessing the damage later today and drawing up a salvage plan for the Maritime Safety Authority.

8 February 2002 – An oil slick has been sighted coming from the stranded bulk Jody F. Millennium close to Gisborne. Gisborne police confirmed a short time ago that the main city beach was closed. Gisborne Herald photographer Paul Rickard said he saw the slick from a helicopter while taking an aerial shot. It was at least 100m long and getting close to the popular Midway section of the beach. On the beach a short time ago there was a strong smell of fuel. A Port Company launch could be seen and appeared to laying a boom around the vessel. The vessel is carrying 60 tonnes of light diesel and 630 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) director Russell Kilvington said fuel began leaking from the vessel between midday and 13.00 and had already spread some distance. He could not confirm exactly how large the slick was, but said it was moving towards the Gisborne River and port area. "… it is obviously coming from the vessel. We don't have precise measurements on the size yet. It is moving back … and we are responding to it. The crew have already put absorbent material around it", he said. One of the crew was the first to spot the slick and alerted MSA immediately, he said.

8 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium ballast tanks have been breached and she started leaking oil at about 13.00, local time today. Samples of the oil have been taken for observation by the Maritime Safety Authority. The spill is drifting towards local beaches and is about 100-200m in length. The vessel, aground on sand and mud, is not currently in danger of breaking up.

8 February 2002 – Residents along Gisborne's main beach have been advised to evacuate their houses due to heavy fumes and risk of contamination from an oil spill washing up along the shoreline. Council representatives went door-knocking late tonight to advise Waikanae residents as far back from the beach as Awapuni Road that makeshift accommodation would be available at two local marae. The beach had been closed after oil from grounded bulk Jody F. Millennium started washing ashore. The vessel was wedged into a sand bar just off Waikanae Beach by 5m waves on Wednesday night. The vessel was carrying 650 tonnes of diesel, which started leaking from a fuel tank. The beach had been closed so that people would not try to pick up the thick fuel. Marine emergency teams are battling to contain the heavy oil seeping from the vessel. The slick from Jody F. Millennium is also threatening a nearby wildlife refuge. The Maritime Safety Authority says an emergency response team, with booms, oil skimmers, and dispersant, has been working to deal with the leaking fuel. Maritime Safety Authority director Russell Kilvington says booms have been put in place to stop the oil moving into the Gisborne River and wildlife lagoons to the south of the city. The 19 crew have remained on board throughout the ordeal. Several rescue attempts have been aborted in the past day because of the big swells. Salvage experts have arrived from Sydney, but say it could take three days to free the vessel.

8 February 2002 – Authorities raced against time last night to stem a growing diesel slick spilling from a stricken bulk Jody F. Millennium into the Gisborne surf. Maritime Safety Authority director Russell Kilvington said the authority was confident it could cope with the heavy fuel oil leaking from an underwater tank with a capacity of 180 tonnes. The vessel is carrying 650 tonnes of fuel oil. "But we only need the weather to turn nasty for things to change", he said. With equipment, staff and plans already in place in Gisborne, the threat of an ecological disaster from a big leak was not great, he said. "We have had some time to get ready. Not necessarily as much as we might have liked, but we are prepared". The Conservation Department was working with the authority and Gisborne District Council to contain the slick, which was "at the moment more of an amenity problem" than a threat to wildlife, department spokeswoman Jill Hudson said. Sensitive ecological areas included the Wherowhero lagoon at the southern end of Poverty Bay, which was home to 25 species of birds, and the Kaiti foreshore north of the stranded vessel. David Sheffield, an agent for the salvors, Australian-based United Salvage, said a draft salvage plan had been prepared by experts who had visited the vessel, but it needed to be approved by the ship's owners and would remain confidential till then. Given the worsening state of the vessel, he expected the plan to be finalised by today. The Maritime Safety Authority, which is overseeing the salvage and investigation into the vessel's beaching when she lost steering as she left Port Gisborne on Wednesday, said it would be days before an attempt would be made to free her. Divers planned to inspect the hull of the vessel today to see if the split in the leaking fuel tank could worsen, and to see how deeply embedded in the seabed the vessel was, Mr Kilvington said "The vessel needed 10m of water to float in, but at present was wedged in sand with only three to six metres of water above it, depending on the tide. And she's just digging herself into the sand and getting more and more embedded", Mr Kilvington said. It was likely the vessel's 20,000-tonne log cargo would have to be unloaded before an attempt to free her with tugs could be made, he said. The authority and salvage experts were considering three options: lifting the logs off with helicopters; dropping bundles of them into the sea and floating them to shore, or bringing in heavy barges on which to offload the logs. Whichever option was chosen, it would "take days" to carry out, Mr Kilvington said. The authority was also bringing in special pumps that might be modified to pump heavy fuel oil from tanks below the vessel's waterline to wing tanks above the waterline. This would ease the threat of a big oil spill from the carrier's load. Yesterday's containment included the use of booms to stop the 100m oil slick from entering the rivers that run past Port Gisborne, and skimmers, storage tanks and dispersants to collect or get rid of the leaking fuel. Diggers were expected to begin work today scooping up some of the oil that made it through the surf on to Waikanae and Midway beaches, right on Gisborne's doorstep.

9 February 2002 – The first seabirds have been caught by the slick caused by heavy fuel oil washing from the stranded bulk Jody F. Millennium, after a pollution control boom failed overnight. Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) on-scene operations commander John Lee-Richards said damage on the shores of Gisborne's beaches and waterways had already been done to some animals. "There has been some bird life affected in a nearby creek, after the birds caught some slick on their feathers", he said. An animal rescue operation was being set up to clean any birds affected by the slick. The breach of the boom was at the mouth of the Turanganui River and an oily film could now be seen in the city's Turanganui, Taruheru and Waimata Rivers. MSA director Russell Kilvington said Australian maritime disaster experts were expected to arrive on the scene today to reinforce the efforts to prevent a massive oil spill disaster. But the team on the ground were already doing all they could. "This morning there is more oil on the beach and more oil on the water. But we have the right dispersant for the type of heavy oil involved", he said. Already teams with pumps were aboard the log carrier, driven on to a sandbar by stormy conditions Wednesday night, readying to pump the fuel oil from the broached No. 3 fuel tank, Mr Kilvington said. "There is no way we can think about re-floating this vessel over the next few days, we can only pray she stays intact and doesn't leak" at a faster rate, he said. The vessel carried 650 tonnes of heavy fuel oil in her tanks and the ruptured tank had contained up to 180 tonnes of "tar-like" fuel. While calm weather conditions were aiding efforts to contain the spill, an easterly swell is expected in the next 24 hours, which will wash against the stranded ship, further damaging her cracked hull. A change of wind direction later today could also see the dangerous fumes from the slick return to the residential areas near Gisborne's Midway beach. Last night, about a dozen residents were evacuated for fear the fumes could cause medical problems, but they were able to return home this morning. Mr Kilvington said the issue of environmental safety "overrides" the salvage of the stranded ship at this stage. Removing fuel oil from the ship was the salvage team's first priority, he added. However before the fuel can be pumped out of the ship, water must be pumped into another ballast tank to prevent it toppling over when the heavy oil is removed. Asked the timeframes for removing the heavy fuel and diesel from the vessel, Mr Kilvington replied: "How long is a piece of string?"

9 February 2002 – Residents along the Gisborne coastline were given the option of evacuating their homes last night after complaining about fumes from heavy fuel leaking from bulk Jody F. Millennium. A national marine oil spill team member, Richard Steele, said some residents had complained about the fumes from the heavy fuel which had created "black, gooey muck" along the shoreline near the city. About 50 to 60 houses were affected by the stench, Mr Steele said, and the Gisborne medical officer of public health and police had told residents to move to a local marae if they were worried. "People have been told that if they are concerned or if they have a respiratory condition then they should think about moving", he said. A marine official said fish and birds could die unless the remaining 180 tonnes of diesel oil inside the vessel's ruptured fuel tank could be pumped out. Oil on board Jody F. Millennium began seeping into the ocean around midday yesterday. Maritime Safety Authority director Russell Kilvington said several tonnes of oil had been swept 400m to shore. "At the moment it's barely an environmental disaster but if it gets any larger, given the nature of the oil, I'm afraid wildlife casualties are inevitable", he said. Transport Minister Mark Gosche, who flew to Gisborne yesterday, said he was happy with the initial response to the spill. "The situation has the potential to be serious and every effort has to be made to avert any potential problems". The authority, the Department of Conservation and the Gisborne District Council staff have set up inflatable booms around the ship to try to contain the spill. The current was shifting the oil towards the Turanganui River, where it was mopped up. Oil has washed up along a 1km stretch of Waikanae Beach. Mr Kilvington said the priority was to pump the remaining oil out of the damaged fuel tank into a higher part of the vessel. A total of 690 tonnes of oil and light diesel was on board, along with 20,000 tonnes of pine logs. Mr Kilvington said the leak was likely to continue today while equipment was found to transfer the oil. National Defence Headquarters staff were expected to arrive in Gisborne last night to assist. A temporary centre would also be established by a Massey University wildlife care unit and DoC staff to treat any affected wildlife. Salvage experts plan to contain the oil leak and stabilise the vessel by pumping water into ballast tanks before considering how to move it. Mr Kilvington said the logs would have to be lifted off before the vessel could be re-floated. The salvage effort was now expected to take several weeks. Waikanae and Midway beaches were closed yesterday as part of a 500m exclusion zone around the vessel prohibiting people, boats or aircraft from getting too close.

9 February 2002 – Tar-like oil blackened the white coastline of Gisborne today as heavy fuel from the tank of bulk Jody F. Millennium washed ashore, coating sea birds and threatening other marine life. As an international team of salvage experts backed by New Zealand's navy battled to prevent a major environmental disaster, the oil spread along more than a half mile of beach near Gisborne on the North Island, 330 miles north-east of the capital, Wellington. In the past 24 hours, up to 44 tons of the heavy fuel oil has leaked, said Bruce Maroc, deputy director of maritime safety. Within a few miles of the leaking vessel are lagoon breeding grounds for a rare sea bird, the New Zealand spotted dottrel, and many other native species, although no birds were found dead by late today. Throughout the day, helicopters hovered over the vessel spraying chemicals to disperse the heavy oil, which was floating in large patches on the sea. Maritime disaster officials said the oil was escaping in a steady trickle from the vessel, which had at least three cracks in her hull. Maritime Safety Authority director Russell Kilvington said salvage crews had stabilized the vessel late today and transferred much of the nearly 200 tons of the heavy fuel oil, more than a fourth of the fuel oil, into secure tanks, Kilvington said.

10 February 2002 – Workers with shovels and front-end loaders began cleaning tons of oil from the beaches of a north-eastern New Zealand town today after salvage teams reduced the flow of the heavy fuel from bulk Jody F. Millennium grounded offshore. Within a few miles of the leaking vessel are lagoon breeding grounds for a rare sea bird, the New Zealand spotted dottrel, and many other native species, but no birds were found dead by late yesterday. Some 75 birds have been found with slight oiling but only one red-billed gull has been treated for oil contamination. An international team of salvage experts backed by New Zealand's navy pumped about one-third of the oil from the stricken vessel into storage tanks, reducing the amount escaping into the sea, maritime operations commander John Lee-Richards said. "We're seeing hardly any oil leaking at all, that's why we've begun the shoreline clean-up", Lee-Richards said. Salvage teams hoped to have most of the oil out of the vessel before the weather deteriorates later in the week, he said. Throughout yesterday, helicopters sprayed chemicals to disperse the heavy oil floating in large patches on the sea. Lee-Richards said floating anti-pollution booms have prevented much of the oil from entering nearby river mouths and the harbour area. Maritime Safety Authority director Russell Kilvington said a tugboat will arrive at the spill scene tomorrow to help anchor and stabilize the vessel while her fuel oil is transferred to a navy tanker over coming days. Salvage teams hope to have most of the oil out of the vessel before the weather deteriorates later in the week.

11 February 2002 – Oil is being pumped into inflatable barges from bulk Jody F. Millennium, which is aground off Gisborne. The Maritime Safety Authority says the operation could take as long as three days. Stormy weather is forecast to return to the area on Thursday, putting added pressure on salvors working to re-float her. At the weekend, oil was pumped from the ruptured No. 3 tank to higher compartments of the vessel so the removal work could begin today. Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) spokeswoman Helen Mojel said the work was under way and was going well at 08.00, local time. This morning the tug Pacific Chieftain arrived from New Plymouth. Ms Mojel said she would be used to stabilise the ship but she did not know if she would eventually be used to tow her. Oil from the ship began leaking on Friday and despite the placement of absorbent oil booms around the slick, the fuel began washing up on the beach. Wildlife was affected on Saturday when a boom protecting the nearby Turanganui River failed and an oily film could be seen in the Turanganui, Taruheru and Waimata Rivers. Yesterday Ms Mojel said the flow had been slowed. It was estimated that between 25 and 40 tonnes of a possible 184 tonnes had leaked into the water. The two other tanks appeared to be sound at this stage, she said. Workers had begun taking the contaminated sand off the beach. An MSA spokeswoman based in Gisborne said the oil pumped into the two barges would be transferred to HMNZS Endeavour about midday. Meanwhile two birds rescued, a red- billed gull on Saturday and a shag yesterday, were being cared for at a Department of Conservation wildlife clean-up centre. "It does take some time. They have to really settle them down first. It's not just a simple matter of de-oiling them and letting them go. They're pretty frightened", the spokeswoman said. She said the oil smell at the beach had lessened. The public were still banned from the area. Over the weekend 30m³ of oil and sand was lifted off the beach and is being stored in lined tanks. It will be sent to a decontaminated disposal site in Napier. Between 600 and 800 litres of oil were collected by booms and would be sent to Auckland in a tanker. Clearing work was continuing at the beach in calm, overcast conditions. The clean-up and salvage operation has so far cost close to $200,000.

11 February 2002 – The heavy fuel oil from bulk Jody F. Millennium appeared to have stopped leaking from the single ruptured tank, a spokeswoman for the Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) said. The oil from the two tanks that were not ruptured started being pumping off this morning. Inflatable barges, flown in from Australia this weekend, were working to move an estimated 400 tons of fuel oil, left in the vessel, to the New Zealand Navy tanker HMNZS Endeavour. With clean-up and oil pumping underway, salvage experts have started making plans to re-float the vessel. A large salvage tug had arrived in the area, another was en route from Melbourne, and extra chains and anchors were being brought to help secure the vessel ahead of expected bad weather. Salvors said an attempt to re-float the vessel would probably be made Friday (15 February), although a build-up of sand between the vessel and the sea was complicating matters. The vessel has to be lifted over a 2m to 3m (6.5ft to 9.8ft) sandbar to get her off, Ian Hoskison of United Salvage said. That in turn means a significant amount of the cargo has to be removed. A storm is expected in the area soon. NZ Meteorological Service marine forecaster Ramon Oosterkamp said the calm conditions were expected to deteriorate, with winds seen rising to near gale force. One of the tugs would secure herself to the vessel and extra anchors fitted to lessen any chance of movement in bad weather. Plans were also being made for helicopters to lift off some of the 20,000 tons of logs in the cargo. Oil removal took first priority, however, because of fears the vessel's balance could be altered if logs were taken off too soon.

12 February 2002 – New Zealand maritime officials are confident they can empty the remaining 450 tonnes of bunkers from beached bulk Jody F. Millennium before heavy weather rolls in again tomorrow. "We are fairly happy with the response. The clean-up from the leaking tanks is just about done and we will finish pumping the oil from the other bunker tanks by Wednesday", said Helen Mojel, a public relations adviser at the maritime safety authority. The vessel is stuck about 350m offshore of Gisborne still carrying her 20,000 tonne cargo of logs. She dragged anchor last week in 5m swells and started to leak oil on Thursday evening (7 February). Ms Mojel said that most of the 40 tonnes of fuel in the broken wing tank was recovered and the residual pollution includes pockets of oil and surface soilage. Hyundai Merchant Marine's local agent and insurance company were on the scene aiding in the clean-up, but officials at the company's Seoul headquarters were not available for comment. The two-year old vessel is owned by Japan's Soki Kissen Co. and had been destined for South Korea. New Zealand has never suffered a large-scale oil pollution incident, but officials were working from a detailed oil spill response programme that was first established in 1992. Oil booms, an inflatable barge for offloading the bunkers, plus other equipment were airlifted in from a central depot in Auckland. Dispersants and booms were used at sea. The inflated barges carrying the offloaded bunkers will then be towed to the naval tanker HMNZS Endeavour, where the oil will be discharged. "We were fortunate that we had some time to get the equipment in place before she started to leak oil in the surf", said Ms Mojel. The area around Gisborne is not of any particularly environmental importance, but culturally the town's life is built around the surfing and swimming on the beaches. Ms Mojel said that the ship's owners had hired United Salvage from Sydney, Australia, to handle the vessel's rescue from the sandbar.

12 February 2002 – An attempt will be made on Friday (15 February) to re-float the grounded bulk Jody F. Millennium at Gisborne, although salvage experts are not certain their plan will work. United Salvage director Ian Hoskison rated the job as an eight out of ten for difficulty, but said the Australian-based company's salvage master intended to try to move the stranded log carrier. But that might not be achieved on Friday. "Nothing's certain in salvage. We have a damaged ship. We're making some assumptions. We don't quite know how much the cargo weighs, we don't quite know how much damage has been done to the tanks and how much buoyancy we're going to recover". Salvors intend to pull the vessel free by her bow, but she has dug herself into a sandy trench, making the operation quite tricky. "The vessel has to be lifted over a 2/3m sandbar to get her off," Mr Hoskison said. A southerly front due to sweep through Gisborne tomorrow may also cause problems. Mr Hoskison said swells of 2/4m were predicted and efforts were being made to secure the ship to the seabed to prevent her being swept further towards the beach in bad weather. New Plymouth's tug Pacific Chieftain, the largest tug east of Singapore with a pulling power of 85 tonnes, secured a line to the vessel yesterday to hold her steady. "The main aim is to stabilise her so she wouldn't get rolled or bashed around to do more damage", Mr Hoskison said. Costs continued to mount yesterday for the ship's Japanese owner. The clean-up bill is now between $300,000 and $400,000. The slow task of pumping the ship's 690 tonnes of fuel ashore began yesterday morning. Maritime Safety Authority deputy director Bruce Maroc said the heavy fuel oil and diesel would be pumped around the clock into inflatable barges and ferried to the Navy's supply ship Endeavour anchored in Gisborne's port. Only 10 tonnes an hour could be pumped out because of the oil's heavy, viscous nature. It could take up to four days before the ship was emptied, he said. Heating coils in the bottom of the vessel's fuel tanks were warming the oil so it could be brought up using the ship's internal pumping system. From there, flexible pipes would suck it into the 100 tonne-capacity barges where it would be delivered to the Endeavour. It was not yet known where the Endeavour would take the oil. Mr Hoskison said it might be transferred back into Jody F. Millennium once she was re-floated. Maritime Safety Authority investigations have begun looking into the circumstances of the stranding. Authority deputy director Bruce Maroc said everyone involved in making decisions that evening, including the port's pilot boat master, who led the vessel out into the channel where she was swept off course, would be interviewed. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission will also report. Gisborne's beaches were much improved yesterday as front-end loaders and workers with shovel and spade continued to mop up the oil. The transformation prompted several surfers to tackle Midway Beach's waves just a few hundred metres from the vessel. But Gisborne's medical officer of health, Dr Bruce Duncan, advised people to stay away in case they came into contact with any remaining oil.

12 February 2002 – Helicopters may today start lifting some of the 20,000 tonnes of logs off stranded bulk Jody F. Millennium as moves to re-float her step up a gear. Salvage equipment arrived in Gisborne yesterday from Australia on an air force Hercules, along with barges and booms from the National Oil Spill Service Centre. A towing vessel, the Pacific Chieftain, has arrived from New Plymouth and will be used to haul the vessel into port once she is light enough to move. As dusk fell yesterday, crowds gathered along the beach to look at the vessel. A strong smell of diesel wafted in from the bay on the humid air. There are signs everywhere of clean-up work by Conservation Department staff, regional and district councils workers and volunteers. The normally pristine sand along the city's shoreline has been churned by a digger, which has helped remove more than 30 tonnes of oil-clogged sand. The fuel oil spill clean-up costs are already edging towards $400,000. Divers who checked yesterday afternoon estimate the log carrier has ground herself 4m into the soft seabed along one side of the hull. A crane driver, who helped load the vessel, said he was amazed the chief mate had decided to sail. The storm could already be seen off the coast as loading finished. But the Korean crew wanted to leave. About five huge mooring lines snapped just loading up and they are about two or three inches thick.

13 February 2002 – Salvors were today hoping to use an oncoming storm to shift stranded bulk Jody F. Millennium to safety. Australian-based salvage company United Salvage Ltd was this morning edging the bow of the stranded vessel to face the waves. They hoped to be able to use a rising swell to dislodge the vessel, which is stuck between a sandbank and a 4m deep trough near the shore of Gisborne's Waikanae Beach. United Salvage director Ian Hoskison said the plan was to try a last-minute dump of the vessel's ballast. That should lighten her, making it easier for the two tugs to yank her free. "We would be extremely disappointed if the vessel ends up in a worse position than she is now", Mr Hoskison said. "Bad weather is a fact of life and we have to deal with it". If the salvors' plan does not work the vessel will have to ride out the storm predicted to hit Gisborne this afternoon. Attempts to pump the vessel's heavy fuel oil on to barges were abandoned at about 02.00, local time, when winds became too strong. There are still almost 400 tonnes of the vessel's 660 tonnes of oil on board. Maritime Safety Authority bosses say if the vessel breaks up now the region faces an environmental catastrophe. MSA director Russell Kilvington said there is a 10 per cent chance the vessel will break up before she is re-floated and towed to a safe port. If that happens the oil spill which follows could affect sea and bird life for hundreds of kilometres. MetService forecaster Ramon Oosterkamp said stormy weather should hit by lunchtime today, bringing with it southerly winds of up to 40 knots and swells the same size as those which ran the Jody F. Millennium aground on 6 February. This morning the predicted squalls had not hit but MetService stood by its prediction. Most of the more than 500-strong MSA rescue team was told to go home and rest yesterday in preparation for this afternoon. This morning, naval ship HMNZS Endeavour, which has been used to store oil pumped from the log carrier, left port and anchored in deeper water off the coast, preparing to ride out the storm. The 19 Korean crew of the Jody F. Millennium are still on board. They will not leave unless the boat becomes unsafe. If this morning's rescue operation does not work, salvors will make another attempt on Friday when the bad weather should have passed.

13 February 2002 – Salvage efforts to free bulk Jody F. Millennium were put off today as a predicted storm failed to happen. Experts decided to use the breathing space to bring in helicopters to start lifting the cargo of 20,000 tons of lumber in the form of giant tree trunks off the vessel in preparation for a bid to re-float her tomorrow morning. Salvage director Ian Hoskison said the crippled vessel, which has lost her rudders, was "responding well" and starting to rise higher in the water. Two tugs will try to ease her off the sandbank if weather conditions allow. Maritime Safety director Russell Kilvington said the situation remained critical and emergency pollution teams were on full alert in case the vessel capsized and spilled 300 tons of heavy fuel oil on nearby beaches.

14 February 2002 – The steel tow-line securing bulk Jody F. Millennium off Gisborne has snapped, causing the vessel to drift back into the position where she is most vulnerable to damage from a heavy swell. Last night, salvors swung the bow of the vessel to seaward facing the wind and swell, ready for a re-floating attempt tomorrow morning. But at 12.30, local time, today, heavy seas snapped the steel cable between the tug Pacific Chieftan, the larger of the two tugs, and the log carrier. The vessel was then battered back into her original position, hard aground parallel to the beach and beam-on on to the swell. The smaller tug, Sea Tow is still attached but is not big enough to pull the log carrier back around to the re-floating position, nor is she big enough to hold her steady. The salvage master is this afternoon reballasting Jody F. Millennium to stabilise her in swells which peaked at 6m this afternoon. The earliest attempt to re-float will now be Saturday morning, because tomorrow will be spent rigging a new towline to Pacific Chieftain. A heavy swell is expected to continue for the next two or three days.

14 February 2002 – Helicopters have been airlifting logs one by one from bulk Jody F. Millennium grounded on a sandbar off New Zealand. Salvage crews are making preparations to re-float the vessel marooned near Gisborne. The operation to airlift 1,100 tons of logs from the vessel was earlier delayed due to bad weather. She has a total of 22,000 tonnes of timber logs on her deck. The Panamanian-registered carrier was forced onto a sandbar off Gisborne's Waikanae beach in storm conditions last week. Tons of oil escaped into the sea from a cracked fuel tank and through the cracked hull before the flow was halted. Pristine beaches and lagoons around Gisborne are home to many bird species. So far only two seabirds have been killed by the oil mess. Pumping more of the fuel off has been halted by rough seas.

14 February 2002 – Helicopters with cables attached carried logs one by one from bulk Jody F. Millennium today, as salvage crews made preparations to re-float the vessel. The airlift began when bad weather halted the unloading at sea of some 1,000 tonnes of logs from the vessel to shore near Gisborne. Maritime Safety Authority deputy scene commander Ian Niblock said today that rough seas had halted oil pumping off the vessel over the past 24 hours. If weather conditions improve, inflatable barges will resume off-loading fuel, or a tug and barge could move logs and fuel at the same time, Niblock said. Salvage officials were also trying to repair a mooring cable from a tug holding the vessel steady which snapped today after catching on the sea bottom. Salvage director Ian Hoskison said extra water ballast was immediately pumped into the vessel's tanks to hold her steady in sea swells up to 6m high. However, the broken cable had put back by two days attempts to free the vessel by using three tugs to drag her off the sandbar, Hoskison said. He played down fears that the vessel would break up under pounding seas.

14 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium: Strong winds have hit Poverty Bay and large swells are expected to arrive overnight. The salvage team continues to gently manoeuvre the vessel's bow into the prevailing weather. The Salvage Master continues transferring oil from the Jody F. Millennium's double bottom tanks (the tanks closest to the sand) to a safer position in the topside ballast tanks (under the main deck). It is thought 300 tonnes of oil remains on the vessel. One helicopter has been mobilised to remove logs from the vessel. The salvor considers this the safest cargo removal option, given current weather conditions. The helicopter can remove about 40 tonnes of cargo per hour. The salvor hopes that a total of 1,000 tonnes of cargo will be removed in this way. If the weather improves, up to 3,000 tonnes of cargo could also be removed by barge. Logs are being transported from the vessel to the wharf. The salvor reports that the vessel is showing no signs of stress at this stage. She is a strong vessel, built for heavy cargo. Heavy equipment from Brisbane has arrived and some of this has been deployed. The Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) will be on full alert tonight and deputy director Bruce Maroc has boarded the Jody F. Millennium to brief the Incident Command Centre (ICC) during the salvage attempt. When successfully moved, the vessel will be taken to a more sheltered area of Poverty Bay for divers to inspect. Oil in barges is moored safely in the port, or on the quayside. This oil will be transported to approved land-fill sites. When the salvor attempts to pull the vessel out of her present position and away from the shore, there is likely to be residual oil underneath and around the vessel that may come ashore. The MSA has prepared resources to manage this. More than 100 regional council staff and 150 defence personnel from Navy, Army and Air Force are on standby as a contingency for rapid response. Booms are ready to protect key areas as required. Three teams are working in conjunction with local IWI, to set up a boom in the entrance of the Wherowhero Lagoon area. Teams are working to clean up a few small tar balls found at the high tide mark. Ngai Tamanuhiri have put a rahui on the Wherowhero Lagoon area.

15 February 2002 – High seas forecast for the next five days will delay re-floating the stranded bulk Jody F. Millennium until next Wednesday (20 February), but salvors say the vessel can survive that long marooned off Gisborne's Waikanae beach. United Salvage director Ian Hoskison said this afternoon that salvors may have to wait for calmer conditions, expected on Wednesday or Thursday, before attempting another re-float. An attempt to salvage the vessel on Wednesday night (13 February) was abandoned because of a high swell. The swells are currently up to 4m high and are expected to be 2-3.5m for the entire weekend. But Mr Hoskison said that unless weather conditions were significantly worse than yesterday, there should be no danger to the structure of the vessel. "You can see some flexing in the vessel with the wave action from the tops of the cranes moving. But you also see that in a seaway, so its nothing untoward and nothing to be concerned about. There is no sign of any deteriation in the vessel". A second tug from Melbourne, the 65-tonne Keera, will arrive at 07.00 hrs, Sunday to join tug Pacific Chieftain in securing Jody F. Millennium. A steel cable from the vessel's bow to Pacific Chieftain snapped in heavy seas yesterday and the log carrier swung back to her original position beam-on to the sea. The vessel has not yet been reconnected to a tug. Pumping of oil within the vessel resumed today and by tomorrow the 199 tonnes of oil stowed on her will be in tanks in the sturdiest part of the vessel. Heating coils at the bottom of the tanks are thinning the oil, making it easier to pump into tanks above the waterline. Weather permitting, two helicopters will tomorrow continue to remove logs, one at a time, from the stranded vessel. The plan was to remove 1,000 tonnes of the total 20,000 tonnes of logs.

16 February 2002 – The tow line from bulk Jody F. Millennium to the anchor handling fire-fighting tug/supply Pacific Chieftain parted early yesterday afternoon. The vessel is now back parallel with the beach and connected only to the smaller Sea Tow tug. There does not appear to be any oil leaking from the vessel. Jody F. Millennium has moved about 60m west towards the sewerage pipeline. The bow remains 550m from the pipeline, which is in no immediate danger. The vessel is sited over three vessel lengths from the sewerage outfall pipe. Another attempt to re-float the Jody F. Millennium is unlikely to happen until Sunday (17 February) or Monday, depending on the vessel's behaviour and the weather conditions. The Pacific Chieftain is coming into port this morning to pick up ground tackle, ready to lay it when the weather is right and prior to the next salvage attempt. Evacuation plans are in place for both the crew and the beach-front residents if necessary. The work carried out early this week to transfer significant amounts of oil, either off the vessel or into tanks above the waterline, means the magnitude of any possible oil spill has been significantly reduced. But since there is still oil on board, there remains a risk of an oil pollution incident. Large salvage tug Keera, is due to arrive from Melbourne Sunday morning. Two further cracks have been found in the ballast tanks, but these are believed to be as a result of the original grounding and are not new damage to the vessel. The sea conditions are not good and she is being pounded by a 4m swell. Swells peaked last night and are now on the way down. If the weather improves, oil off-loading from the vessel may restart. It may go into the lancer barges and then to trucks. As an alternative, the large Sea Tow barge could also be used to receive oil from the vessel. It is now thought 423 tonnes of fuel is still on board the Jody F. Millennium and an estimated 195 tonnes remain in the bottom tanks. The rest has been transferred from the vessel's double bottom tanks to the topside ballast tanks. Pumping gas begun again today in an attempt to move the remaining 195 tonnes to topside tanks.

16 February 2002 – Salvage and clean-up costs following the stranding of bulk Jody F. Millennium could be approaching $2 million. United Salvage director Ian Hoskison was reluctant to put a figure on the salvage operation yesterday but hinted that the cost was around $1 million. That comes on top of the cost of cleaning up the 25 tonnes of oil that the vessel leaked onto Gisborne's beaches last weekend. The Japanese company that owns the vessel, Soki Risen, would be sent the bill, which the Maritime Safety Authority estimated was now just over $800,000. Mr Hoskison was confident the battered vessel would not suffer any more damage despite salvage attempts having been delayed until next week. Mr Hoskison said calmer weather – not due until Wednesday (20 February) – would be needed before any re-floating attempt would be made. "There is no sign of any deterioration in the structure of the ship", he said. "You can see some flexing in the vessel with the wave action … but you also see that in a seaway". The ship was not in danger of breaking up unless the weather significantly worsened. The Keera is due to arrive in Gisborne from Melbourne this weekend to help pull the vessel free. The Pacific Chieftain's tow line would be reattached tomorrow and both tugs would once again begin easing the vessel's bow around to face south into the ocean in preparation for re-floating. Mr Hoskison, who had hoped to make an attempt on this morning's high tide, said the delay would allow the remaining 195 tonnes of oil in the vessel's bottom tanks to be transferred above the water line. This would minimise the risk of another oil spill should any more damage occur. Mr Hoskison yesterday revealed the vessel had an insured value of US$13.5 million.

17 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium: About 160 tonnes of oil was transferred from the No. 2 port tank to the topside No. 4 starboard tank between 08.00, Friday and 04.00, this morning. All going well, by the end of today it is expected that the great majority of the about 65 tonnes remaining in the bottom tanks, not needed for operational purposes, will be relatively safe above the water line. This transfer is making a significant contribution to minimising the environmental risk. But while there is still any oil on board, there remains a risk of an oil pollution incident. Today a mixture of oil and water from the No. 1 double bottomed tank will be transferred to a higher tank. It is estimated that about 423 tonnes of fuel oil remains on the vessel. The focus today is to rig the ground tackle (anchors and wires) for attaching to anchors and then to winches on the vessel's bow. Weather permitting, this gear will be loaded onto the Pacific Chieftain today. The Jody F. Millennium will be reconnected to the Pacific Chieftain and, tomorrow afternoon or Monday (18 February) to the Melbourne tug Keera. Once connected to both tugs, the salvage plan is to move the vessel around into the weather and re-float it possibly Wednesday or Thursday. There does not appear to be any oil leaking from the vessel. There is no sign of deterioration in what the salvage company director describes as an "extremely strong" vessel. However, the weather is continually putting the vessel under stress. The full extent of the damage won't be known until the cargo is removed. More log cargo may be lifted off by helicopter today. It may not be possible to get the Sea Tow barge alongside until there are calmer conditions, expected in about three days.

17 February 2002 – A second ocean going tug is due to arrive in Gisborne today to help salvage bulk Jody F. Millennium. The 65-tonne tug Keera will arrive from Melbourne to join the Pacific Chieftain in attempting to pull the Jody F. Millennium away from her position, wedged into a sandbar alongside Gisborne's main beach. Salvors will today connect both tugs to the vessel and start turning her to face out to sea in preparation for a re-floating attempt. All but a few tonnes of oil are now secure in the log carrier's upper tank and weather conditions today are forecast to improve. Meanwhile the Maritime Safety Authority says its investigation into the grounding of the stricken vessel cannot be rushed. MSA director Russell Kilvington says despite rumour and speculation about who is to blame, the investigation will be carried out in a totally professional manner. Mr Kilvington says a senior accident investigator is independently working on the case and is under no pressure to come to any conclusions. He says if it turns out someone needs to be held accountable, then that will happen.

17 February 2002 – Port Gisborne authorities told the master of bulk Jody F. Millennium stranded off Gisborne to leave port the night she grounded but did not tell him the sea was almost certainly too shallow for his vessel, the vessel's owners say. Speaking publicly for the first time since Jody F. Millennium was stranded off Gisborne's main beach 6 February, the owners gave an account of events that on key points differed with the port's account. If correct, the owners' version strengthens an opinion by a master mariner reported on Friday (15 February) that the port bungled the departure of the vessel. One of New Zealand's most experienced master mariners said that trying to get the vessel out two hours after low tide in 6m swells was doomed. There would not have been enough water in the channel to prevent the vessel from bouncing along the bottom, which was probably how she lost her steering, he said. Port Gisborne said the decision to leave port was made by the port pilot and vessel's master after mooring ropes snapped. But Shigeuki Higuchi, managing director of the vessel's Japanese owners, Siko Kisen, said the harbour- master made the decision. "We wish to know why (the decision was made)," Mr Higuchi said. Asked if the master was happy with the decision, he repeated: "We wish to know why." Mr Higuchi said the master was not told there would not be enough water. Asked who was responsible and if his company would seek financial recompense, he said the owners were concentrating on salvaging the vessel. Ownership of the companies involved is tangled. The port pilot, tugs and their skippers are contracted to Port Gisborne but owned by Australian firm Adsteam. Salvage company United Salvage is also owned by Adsteam. Insurance is likely to pay for the nearly $1 million clean-up and perhaps more than $1 million in salvage, should the vessel be re-floated. If the insurance company believes Port Gisborne authorities botched events, they could conceivably sue Adsteam on one hand and pay Adsteam with the other. United Salvage director Ian Hoskison and Maritime Safety Authority on-scene commander John Lee-Richards said both groups had incurred costs of about $1 million. Mr Hoskison said all oil had been drained from the vessel and the risk of further pollution was minimal. However, the vessel's steering gear was a write-off and steel plates had been placed over doors between it and the engine-room. Water could flow in through the steering room and if it reached the engine the vessel would roll and sink. Mr Hoskison said big anchors had been attached on Saturday to stop the vessel drifting in the wrong direction. The tug Pacific Chieftain had been reconnected yesterday and the tug Keera would be in position today.

18 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium: Tug Keera arrived on scene early yesterday. Anchor handling tug Pacific Chieftain has reconnected to the vessel and Keera is expected to connect to the vessel tomorrow. Weather has improved, one to two metre swells, light winds. No further pollution from the vessel. About 60 tonnes of heavy fuel oil remains on board the vessel. A re-floating attempt could be made tomorrow.

18 February 2002 – Problems for authorities dealing with the stranded bulk Jody F. Millennium will not be over if the vessel is re-floated. A decision will have to be made about what to do with the vessel if she is too badly damaged to be towed to another country with a big enough dry dock for repairs. The damaged vessel cannot be repaired in New Zealand. She is too wide to fit inside the dry dock at Auckland's Devonport naval base, the largest in the country, and at best the vessel faces a long tow to a dry dock in Australia for permanent repairs. There is speculation she could be towed to Singapore for repairs. However, until she is off the Poverty Bay sandbank, authorities will not be able to inspect her for damage and will not know if she can be taken to sea, even under tow. If she is very badly damaged from the 12 days she has spent sitting on the seabed off Gisborne, she may not be sound enough to be towed to Australia let alone Singapore. Maritime authorities confirmed today her steering gear had been written off. Authorities have also said that with the steering gear badly damaged there is a good chance the propeller and propeller shaft have also been damaged. Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) spokeswoman Helen Mojel said the MSA was discussing the future of the vessel with its lawyers under the provisions of New Zealand maritime law. She said MSA lawyers were looking through the Maritime Transport Act to establish the responsibilities of the New Zealand maritime authorities. She said the vessel had been declared a hazard and an order had been placed on the vessel stopping her from being moved out of Poverty Bay. "If they get her re-floated they have got to take her somewhere in the bay and put divers down and have her surveyed to see what needs to be done." She said the MSA needed to be confident the vessel was sound enough to be towed safely around the New Zealand coast without danger of her breaking up, sinking, and causing more environmental problems. "We also don't want to dump her on another port where it (the oil) might spill. We have all the equipment there in Gisborne. Ms Mojel said salvors now hoped to re-float the vessel on Wednesday (20 February) after turning the bow seaward. Tug Keera was connected to the stranded vessel today in preparation for the attempt at re-floating. The vessel was still ballasted to keep her in place on the seabed. Ms Mojel said if the vessel felt lively enough to be moved off the sandbank, they would try to re-float her before Wednesday. Ground tackle was also laid during the weekend by tug Pacific Chieftain. The door to the engine-room had been sealed off to minimise a risk of flooding from the damaged rudder stock.

18 February 2002 – An attempt to re-float bulk Jody F. Millennium, grounded off Gisborne, will be made on Wednesday (20 February), the Maritime Safety Authority said today. The vessel ran aground almost two weeks ago in 5m swells off Waikanae Beach in Gisborne and subsequently began leaking fuel oil into the sea from a ruptured tank. Attempts to shift the vessel have failed but tugs and barges from as far away as Nelson and Melbourne have now arrived in Gisborne to help with the salvage. The MSA said today the vessel would be attached to three tugs today and a re-floating attempt made early Wednesday afternoon. Additional "ground tackle" – chains, wires and anchors – had also been put in place to assist the salvage. The anchors were laid out and the wires attached to winches on the vessel to help swing her towards deeper water. That equipment, used in conjunction with tugs, had earlier helped turn the vessel into the sea, rather than taking the swell broadside. The MSA said the salvor, United Salvage, had provided an undertaking not to attempt a re-float during darkness. If the vessel was moved at night and an oil spill occurred, it would be very difficult to control. While most of the oil had been removed, about 35 tonnes had yet to be pumped off the vessel. Salvors would also look at removing another 2,000 tonnes of cargo, much of it logs, before Wednesday. However, due to safety issues, helicopters were unable to remove cargo while salvors were on deck. The clean-up and salvage has so far cost an estimated NZ$2 million.

19 February 2002 – A salvage team will try to move the stranded bulk Jody F. Millennium in an effort to re-float her today. United Salvage director Ian Hoskison said he did not want to predict if the attempt to move the vessel would succeed in re-floating her. The repositioning was due to begin at 10.00. "It's a possibility, but I really don't know", he said. "It's all down to circumstance, and how the vessel responds to being moved, so it's impossible to say". The repositioning was only possible at high tide, he said. Yesterday, the salvage team spent time doing "domestic things", such as getting water and other supplies to the vessel's crew, as well as removing rubbish and taking some time to rest after "a very hectic week". The salvage team and the vessel's crew had also been holding discussions with salvage master Captain David Hancox, who was advising them what would happen in the next day or two. Mr Hoskison said the Gisborne weather had "turned around at the right time for the salvage", and fine weather was forecast for the rest of the week. "Summer is finally upon us." The vessel is being moved from being parallel with the coast to being at right angles to it, while salvagers also try to remove the last 90 tonnes of oil from the vessel. Authorities said that with the steering gear badly damaged, there was a good chance the propeller and propeller shaft were also damaged. Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman Helen Mojel said the authority was discussing with its lawyers the future of the vessel, under the provisions of New Zealand maritime law. Lawyers were looking through the Maritime Transport Act to establish the responsibilities of the New Zealand maritime authorities, she said. The vessel had been declared a hazard and an order had been placed on her, stopping her from being moved out of the Poverty Bay region. "If they get her re-floated, they have got to take her somewhere in the bay and put divers down and have her surveyed to see what needs to be done", she said.

19 February 2002 – It was a case of high noon for bulk Jody F. Millennium today as three tugs waited for the high tide to at least reposition the stranded vessel and possibly even re-float her. Also watching closely were the Maritime Safety Authority's oil response team who were on full alert in case of any further spills. An authority spokeswoman said today while it was difficult to get accurate soundings, there were still tonnes of oil in the double bottom tanks of the vessel. Booms were in place at key points around the harbour and rivers and the Wherowhero Lagoon. This morning the vessel was floating in a trough of compacted sand and clay. Bringing her around and into deeper water will be a very gradual operation and surveyor Nick Haslam expected the trough to actually move with her. Deballasting of the vessel began at 03.00 hrs, today and was expected to be finished by mid-morning. The three tugs started applying light to moderate power from 08.00 hrs. "With a bit of luck she will move today, but it will probably be tomorrow", said United Salvage director Ian Hoskison. If the tide started falling, the vessel would be re-ballasted for the night. "She needs enough time to navigate out of the foul ground before dark". Mr Hoskison said they might put the Sea Tow barge alongside to take more logs off later today. Another 2,000 tonnes would lift the vessel by half a metre. Once the vessel had been re-floated, it will still take a couple of days to do diving inspections. "We are already thinking about where she will go, what will happen to the cargo and what to do with the vessel – a lot will depend on the damage". Divers had not had the opportunity for a good look at the hull because the main damage is sitting on the bottom of the bay, and there has been poor visibility. Once the vessel was in deeper water, one tug would be kept on her as she did not have her own anchor. An anchor would be put on at another New Zealand port before the vessel was taken offshore – perhaps to Singapore. "The cargo has to be discharged, so we have to find a port for that. The main engine cannot be run and the steering gear is a write-off." With all this considered, bringing the vessel into Gisborne's narrow entranceway could produce problems, so the team was considering more traditional logging ports, like Napier or Tauranga. However, nothing would be decided without extensive talks with the Maritime Safety Authority and cargo owners and agents. But Mr Hoskison said it was not unusual for loaded vessels to be towed for miles. New Zealand and Australian environment experts are working together to make sure areas affected by the Jody F. Millennium oil spill are properly prioritised. New Zealand Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) environmental advisor Julian Roberts and his Australian MSA (AM SA) equivalent Trevor Gilbert are heading up a team that scans the beaches regularly for spilled oil and oil impact. Priority areas around Poverty Bay have been identified and included Wherowhero Lagoon. "That is significant from a wildlife perspective because of the birds", said Roberts. Also ranking highly in terms of protection were the city rivers and harbour. Those areas sported good habitat for a number of bird species as well as fresh water vegetation. "We have also looked at Kaiti and Wainui, but they are a little more robust in terms of their ability to cope with an oil spill situation." It was not possible to protect everything. Oil has different impacts on different types of foreshores. "If it is rocky, it can often be cleaned by the ocean. If it is marshy it can have a much greater long term impact."

19 February 2002 – The main salvage attempt for today is now over. The salvor successfully turned bulk Jody F. Millennium from 232 degrees to 216 degrees (bow now heading further out to sea). The salvor is re-ballasting the vessel down again to hold her in position for another attempt tomorrow. Having achieved today's main objective the Salvor is positioning the Sea Tow barge next to the vessel. They will off-load logs this afternoon from the vessel onto the barge. This is to further lighten the vessel for tomorrow's re-floating attempt. Today's operation caused significant temporary water discolouration (sand and mud stirred up). Apart from one very small oil spot reported early on in the day which has subsequently broken up and naturally dispersed, there are no further reports of any more oil escaping. However, response teams remain on high alert. The salvor will spend much of the rest of the day assessing the vessel's new position and tactics for tomorrow. The MSA official remains on board to provide regular ongoing reports to the Director of Maritime Safety and the National On-Scene Commander.

19 February 2002 – Hyundai Merchant Merchant has denied any responsibility for bulk Jody F. Millennium. "We saw that we're named as responsible for the vessel, but this was only a voyage charter", a HMM official said. "The casualty and clean-up are the responsibility of the owner." The owner and operator of the vessel is Japanese owner, Shoki Kisen.

19 February 2002 – A bid to free bulk Jody F. Millennium failed today and a fresh salvage attempt will be made tomorrow. Maritime officials said a fresh salvage attempt would be made after some of the vessel's cargo of logs has been removed. "They've managed to reposition the vessel a bit further out to sea, and turned her about 20 degrees from where she was this morning. They're starting to unload some logs this afternoon", Maritime Safety Authority Helen Mojel said. Three powerful tugs had tried to tow the ship back to deeper water at high tide but had been unable to free her from the shallow sandbar off the beach near Gisborne. Mojel said the plan was to remove around 2,000 tonnes of the estimated 20,000 tonnes of logs on board the vessel onto a barge ahead of another attempt to re-float her tomorrow afternoon. Previously, helicopters had been used to remove around 250 tonnes of logs from the vessel, one-by-one. There was no sign of further damage to the vessel and salvors remained confident there was little chance of the vessel breaking up, especially with weather conditions now much calmer than at the weekend. Mojel said it appeared no further oil had leaked after the attempts to move her today. The 19 Korean crew remain on board the vessel.

19 February 2002 – Salvors have managed to turn the bow of bulk Jody F. Millennium approximately 20 degrees today, so the vessel's heading (the direction of the bow) is further out to sea. Melbourne tug Keera and the Pacific Chieftain were used on the bow of the vessel and the tug Sea Tow was on the stern to help control the side-wards movement. Subsequently, the large capacity Sea Tow barge has been brought alongside the Jody F. Millennium and logs will be transferred from the vessel's deck cargo on to the barge this afternoon. The salvor is hoping to remove up to 2,000 tonnes of logs. The risk of an oil spill remains high. The high tide early on Wednesday (20 February) afternoon will be the salvor's next attempt to re-float the vessel. There will be no attempt during the hours of darkness because it would be impossible to mount an effective oil spill response and dangerous from a navigation safety point of view. Nearly 360 tonnes of oil have been transferred to a safer position higher in the vessel. The remaining residual tonnes in the double bottom tanks are difficult to pump but work continues to strip as much of this out as possible. The full extent of the damage to the vessel will not be known until the cargo is removed. Evacuation plans are in place for both the crew and the beach-front residents if necessary. An MSA staff member remains on board the vessel to brief the Incident Command Centre (ICC) and the Director of Maritime Safety on all ship-related matters. Booms remain in place or in readiness at the port, river mouth, upstream of the Taruheru, the Waiapoa River and the Wherowhero Lagoon. The cost of the oil spill response to date is estimated at $1.2 million. The spiller is liable for this cost.

20 February 2002 – The Maritime Safety Authority had serious concerns about Port Gisborne authorities flouting statutory requirements for exams that led to the appointment of the port's pilot. The appointment procedure for the pilot also came under fire from the New Zealand Maritime Pilots Association, which complained to the authority, saying shortcuts were taken. The association said one of the two men who tested the pilot had a conflict of interest and should have "stood well aside". Attention has been focused on Port Gisborne and its pilot who is employed by the New Zealand branch of an Australian firm, Adsteam since bulk Jody F. Millennium stranded off Gisborne on 6 February. The vessel left port in conditions that a master mariner said were unsafe because he believed there was not enough water in the port channel to prevent the vessel "bouncing" along the bottom. Yesterday, Maritime Pilots Association president Charles Smith confirmed that he complained in January 1999 about the process of selecting the Gisborne pilot. Captain Smith said there was a "proper method" of selecting pilots and most ports took a "considerable amount of time" in the process. "He's the man who has got to protect the ships and protect the environment, it is important his training is of the highest order". Captain Smith said the port authorities, Port Gisborne and the Gisborne District Council, were required under harbour laws to have the names of the pilot's examiners, approved by the authority. This did not happen and Captain Smith said one of the examiners was Adsteam chief executive Peter Dunlop. Captain Smith said the port authorities should not have used a representative of the company contracted to run pilot and tug services in the port to examine the port pilot because it gave the appearance that there could be a conflict of interest. Captain Smith said the other member of the panel was a pilot who did some relieving pilot work at the port. He said this examiner tested the prospective pilot's skills at navigating in the port over a weekend and considered that the examination. Documents obtained by The Dominion show that the authority agreed with the pilot's association that there were "elements of expediency and irregularities" in setting up the examination board. But the authority said the two master mariners who comprised the board met the requirements of general harbour rules for selecting pilots. Though the examiners were not approved by the authority before the examination, the exams complied with the regulations and the authority did not see a need for "a re-examination". However, the authority did tell Port Gisborne and the Gisborne District Council that it was dismayed at their "clear non-compliance" in not having the selection panel approved. The authority said it was concerned with the "manner in which the affairs of the Port of Gisborne are being conducted and the apparent flouting of statutory requirements". Captain Smith said it was "totally irregular" to find that the port authorities did not comply with the rules for examination but allow the examination to stand. Authority director Russell Kilvington declined to comment yesterday. Meanwhile, salvors tried to shift the Jody F. Millennium yesterday using four tugs. The tugs were unable to move the vessel to deeper water and salvors are expected to off-load more logs from the vessel today before trying to re-float her.

20 February 2002 – The salvage company attempting to re-float bulk Jody F. Millennium has not been able to shift the vessel this afternoon. United Salvage worked throughout last night transferring 2,000 tonnes of logs from the vessel to a barge moored alongside. This afternoon three tugs pulled the vessel's bow another seven degrees seaward but could not budge the vessel off the sand. Maritime Safety Authority director Russell Kilvington said he was discussing with the vessels owners what would happen to the logs still on board.

20 February 2002 – Things did not go well for salvors hoping to free the stranded bulk Jody F. Millennium today. The stern of the vessel has been hard aground on a beach at Gisborne for almost two weeks, and now her bow is also firmly stuck. Using two deep-sea tugs, salvors tried to swing the vessel's bow seaward at high tide early this afternoon, but the bow lodged on a sand bar and could not be pulled free. The operation was called off at 12.40 hrs and it was likely more logs would be removed from the vessel before another attempt was made tomorrow. Salvors worked through the night to unload 2,000 tonnes of logs. The vessel's cranes stopped unloading at 07.30, today. Today's re-floating efforts were hampered when a towline to the 65- tonne tug Keera parted. The line has since been reconnected. The vessel was today turned seaward by 7 degrees but salvors said the vessel needed to swing another 29 degrees to point due south toward open sea before she can be re-floated. Salvors estimate that 48-90 tonnes of oil could still be in the vessel's fuel tanks. When the vessel is re-floated, she will be towed to anchor in deeper water at the southern end of Poverty Bay while divers check for damage. Only then will she be allowed into the open sea.

21 February 2002 – Tugs involved in the salvage operation of bulk Jody F. Millennium lost round three yesterday in trying to pull the vessel's bow around to face the open sea when the bow ran up against a sandbar. The salvors said they would weigh up their options before continuing to try to re-float the vessel. Salvors worked through Tuesday (19 February) night, removing 2,000 tonnes of logs from the vessel and ferrying them in a barge to the port. Helicopters have removed about 250 tonnes of the 20,000-tonne cargo of logs, and the salvors said the unloading has given the vessel half a metre more water to float in. The Maritime Safety Authority, meanwhile, remains on "high alert" because 410 tonnes of heavy fuel oil is still on the vessel. Almost all the oil has been transferred from tanks below the waterline to wing tanks higher up in the hull. The authority said evacuation plans for the crew and Gisborne's beach front residents were in place because the risk of an oil spill "remains high". Gisborne's Waikanae and Kaiti beaches were opened to the public yesterday but a ban on swimming and seafood gathering remains. Evacuation plans are in place for both the crew and beach-front residents if necessary. An MSA staff member remains on board the vessel to brief the Incident Command Centre (ICC) and the Director of Maritime Safety. Booms remain in place or in readiness at the port, river mouth, upstream of the Taruheru, the Waiapoa River and the Wherowhero Lagoon. The cost of the oil spill response to date is estimated at $1.4 million. The spiller is liable for this cost.

21 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium: There will be no salvage attempt today. A salvage attempt was put on hold yesterday as the vessel's bow came up against a sand barrier. A hydrographic survey will be carried out today to assess the seabed around the vessel to determine the next steps for the salvage operation. Salvors are this morning unloading the remainder of logs from the Sea Tow barge in the port. The Sea Tow barge will then be moored back alongside Jody F. Millennium so that more cargo can be removed. Helicopters are also being used to remove logs from the vessel. Nearly 360 tonnes of oil have been transferred to a safer position higher in the vessel. Once sufficient logs have been removed from the deck cargo to allow access to the manhole doors of the topside tanks, oil will be pumped out to tanks on the Sea Tow barge. The log removal and the oil transfer operations will take place at the same time. The next re-float attempt is likely to take place at high tide early tomorrow afternoon. Also today MSA staff will lift the lancer barges out of the water and on to the wharf for cleaning. The barges were used to transfer oil from Jody F. Millennium to HMNZS Endeavour and ashore into trucks. Waikanae and Kaiti beaches have been opened for beach access only. There is no swimming in the exclusion zone from Waikanae Cut to the south end of Stanley Road with strong advice not to swim in the Bay. The beaches remain closed for seafood gathering. Beaches may be closed again at short notice in the event of any further oil spill from the vessel. The MSA national oil spill response team remains on high alert as the risk of an oil spill remains. Once the vessel is shifted out into Poverty Bay, it could remain there for up to four days while divers inspect the damage and possibly repairs are made. Evacuation plans are in place for both the crew and beach-front residents if necessary. A MSA staff member remains on board Jody F. Millennium to brief the Incident Command Centre (ICC) and the Director of Maritime Safety. Booms remain in place or in readiness at the port, river mouth, upstream of the Taruheru, the Waiapoa River and the Wherowhero Lagoon.

22 February 2002 – There will be no re-floating attempt today of bulk Jody F. Millennium. Overnight the salvors managed to reposition the bow of the vessel 10 degrees seaward. The vessel's heading is now 191 degrees. Today salvors will focus on discharging logs from the vessel. Removal of cargo has enabled access to the top-side oil tanks. The salvage team is now considering options for removing oil from these tanks. Helicopters may also be used to remove logs from the vessel. This will assist in reducing the draught of the vessel which will help re-floating. Tug Pacific Chieftain is returning to New Plymouth and will be replaced by the Sea Tow 25. The next re-float attempt is likely to take place at high tide early tomorrow afternoon. Yesterday MSA staff successfully lifted the lancer barges out of the water and on to the wharf. No oil was spilled during this process. The barges were used to transfer oil from the Jody F. Millennium to the HMNZS Endeavour and ashore in to trucks. Waikanae and Kaiti beaches have been opened for beach access only. There is no swimming in the exclusion zone from Waikanae Cut to the south end of Stanley Road with strong advice not to swim in the Bay. The beaches remain closed for seafood gathering. Beaches may be closed again at short notice in the event of any further oil spill from the Jody F. Millennium. The MSA national oil spill response team remains on high alert as the risk of an oil spill remains. Once the Jody F. Millennium is shifted out into Poverty Bay, it could remain there for up to four days while divers inspect the damage and possibly repairs are made. The cost of the oil spill response to date is estimated at $1.6 million. The spiller is liable for this cost.

22 February 2002 – Maritime authorities hope this weekend to attempt to re-float bulk Jody F. Millennium, which ran aground on New Zealand's North Island more than two weeks ago, a spokeswoman said today. Salvors continued to remove logs from the vessel in preparation for the attempt, the Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) spokeswoman said. The re-floating attempt would not take place before tomorrow, she said. Salvors were also to remove oil from the vessel's top tankers. United Salvage director Ian Hoskison said he hoped the some 2,000 tonnes of logs being removed from the vessel would enable it to sit higher in the water and re-float.

23 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium is continuing to make subtle moves towards the ocean. The vessel has now been wedged in the Gisborne seabed for three weeks as salvors try to remove the cargo of logs to lighten her. United Salvage spokesman Ian Hoskison said the vessel's movements were slow but sure. He said the vessel started to come afloat in her trench, so salvors took advantage of that and moved her another metre out to sea. Mr Hoskison said that was pleasing, even though it seems a small amount. He said testing around the vessel's bow showed there is a greater volume of water around the vessel than several days ago.

24 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium was this afternoon being towed out to sea after a successful attempt to re-float the vessel today, the Maritime Safety Authority said. The vessel, which had been wedged on a sandbank off Gisborne's Waikanae Beach for 12 days, would be taken by a tug further into Poverty Bay where a damage inspection, and possibly repairs, will be carried out. Preparations for the latest attempt began mid-morning in readiness for high tide at 16.00 hrs but the authority said the vessel was pulled free before then.

25 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium was underway just after 16.00, yesterday and heading out of Poverty Bay after spending 18 days as one of the biggest tourist attractions the district has ever had. There was congratulations for United Salvage director Ian Hoskison, who watched the action from the Beacon Reserve car park. All morning three helicopters had been removing hundreds of tonnes of logs from the stranded vessel. At 13.30 hrs, the tugs took up their place – first, the Keera, Sea Tow 25 and Titirangi, and later the Turihaua also joined in, with the pilot vessel. The Keera's tow parted just before 15.00 hrs. The stretcher has a breaking strain of about 150 tonnes. Salvage master David Hancox brought the Melbourne-based tug around the stern to push, with the Turihaua and Titirangi pushing and pulling from either side. The Sea Tow 25 stayed on the bow. Then, just when it seemed the pushing and pulling had slowed down she was freed. The Jody F. Millennium was on her way, looking a little ungainly at first, but then she was full steam ahead. The weather conditions had not assisted the re-float, but Mr Hoskison said they had probably helped in getting tugs into the right positions to push and pull. "We wouldn't have been able to get the Keera on to the stern like that if there had been any sort of swell running." He expected divers to have a "bit of a sticky beak yesterday afternoon, with a full dive inspection today." "It won't be a serious one but everyone is very curious to see what damage there is". The Jody F. Millennium was taken about three nautical miles off Young Nick's Head where she was held in place by the tugs Sea Tow 25 and Keera for the night.

25 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium has been successfully re-floated and is currently about two miles from Gisborne. A diving inspection to assess the damage is taking place.

26 February 2002 – A dive team inspecting damage to bulk Jody F. Millennium off Gisborne's coast were unable to complete their examination of the vessel yesterday and will continue today. The team was looking for damage caused to the vessel. The Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) and the salvors met last night to discuss what the next stage of the salvage operation was to be, but with the dive team's work still incomplete, plans for the vessel to leave were on hold. MSA deputy director Bruce Maroc said the meeting was predominantly about what repairs needed to be made. "Not all the diving survey has been completed at this stage, so it's not possible to make a full assessment. It will continue tomorrow", Mr Maroc said. "What is fair enough to say is that MSA and the salvors are discussing technical work that needs to be completed before the vessel is repositioned for a port of refuge within New Zealand. (They are) temporary repairs that have to be done before the vessel moves, and before she's repositioned from Gisborne". He could not say exactly what repairs were needed as the damage assessment had not been completed. It was not known when the vessel could safely leave, but after the survey and repairs were made it "could be fairly quickly". MSA, the salvors and the ship's owners were working together on the salvage plan. The owners would then make a submission to MSA on where they wanted to go next. The dive team was expected to complete its assessment late this afternoon. MSA yesterday said it would begin an investigation into how the vessel became stranded in the first instance, including how Port Gisborne procedures were carried out. MSA director Russell Kilvington said it would consider claims by former Gisborne harbour-master Ian Cook that the stranding was an accident waiting to happen. Mr Cook, who successfully sued Port Gisborne Ltd for wrongful dismissal after he had been employed at the port for 20 years, had been invited to make written submission to the authority and would be interviewed as part of the investigation into the stranding. "All of the issues that have been raised by Mr Cook and all of the issues relating to the overall operational safety at the Port of Gisborne will be addressed", he said. The MSA investigation is expected to take at least two months and its conclusions are likely to be made public. "It will be made public unless we take legal action against someone, in which case information that we are doing something will be made public", Mr Kilvington said.

26 February 2002 – A diver's survey has been completed for the majority of the hull of the bulk Jody F. Millennium, which remains anchored in Poverty Bay near Young Nick's Head. Cracks were found in the No. 3 double bottom tank, the tank from which oil spilled following the grounding of the vessel. Temporary repairs to these cracks are expected to be carried out today. A large hole has been found in the No. 5 water ballast tank, measuring some 8m by 1.5m. The plate is bent back from this hole and hanging. It would have acted like a brake in the sand and contributed to the difficulty in pulling the vessel free. Repairs will be undertaken at the first port of call. A rippling effect has occurred on the horizontal bottom of the vessel, affecting No. 1 and No. 2 tanks but this is not of concern to the vessel's structure. The rudder is bent and twisted. A wire will be put around the rudder to attach it to the hull for its transport to another port, where it is likely to be removed. An 07.30 hrs flyover by a spotter aircraft confirmed no oil discharges from the vessel. There are four possible first port of call destinations – Gisborne, Napier, Tauranga and Wellington. At this port it is intended that the remaining oil and logs be removed, and more substantial repairs undertaken. The vessel will then proceed overseas to a dry dock for full repairs. There are no dry docks in New Zealand of sufficient size to take the vessel. It is still not known where the two anchors of the vessel lie. It is possible that they have dug themselves down four or five metres into the sand and mud and onto the hard bottom of Poverty Bay. The 500m sea exclusion zone around the Jody F. Millennium and attendant tugs will remain until the vessel departs Poverty Bay. The Jody F. Millennium has been declared a hazardous vessel and, while this condition still applies, the MSA national oil spill response team remains on alert. Salvors continue to inspect the vessel for damage repairs and the vessel's classification society (representing the vessel's owners) are this morning diving to verify the salvor's assessment of the damage. If satisfied, it will issue an interim certificate of seaworthiness. The MSA will not let the vessel proceed to sea until it sees this certificate for structural soundness, confirms her seaworthiness, is assured that the vessel is no longer leaking oil, and that the vessel has an approved voyage plan (including route, likely weather conditions, number of tugs etc.) to be towed to an interim port for further repairs. The cost of the oil spill response to date is estimated at $1.9 million. The spiller is liable for this cost.

27 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium will be towed from Poverty Bay today at noon and head to Tauranga. There her cargo of logs will be unloaded and further repairs made before the vessel is towed overseas. The damage assessment of the vessel was finished yesterday, Ian Hoskison, of United Salvage, said. The salvor's diving survey had been completed and the temporary repairs to enable the vessel to proceed to the port of refuge were to have been completed last night, he said. Mr Hoskison said Tauranga had been selected as the "port of refuge" for the vessel, partly because it was a logging port. While in Tauranga, the vessel's cargo of logs would be unloaded and repairs made to a water ballast tank "which has quite a large hole in it that has to have a patch over it". Other repairs would be made to the vessel's steering gear as well as a few "odds and ends", he said. Unloading the cargo and carrying out the repairs would take four or five days. Mr Hoskison did not know where overseas the vessel would be towed. It was "a matter for the owners", he said. Maritime Safety Authority deputy director Bruce Maroc said yesterday that the authority was still conducting its own underwater inspections, but was confident the vessel would soon be moved. "There is damage that has been reported and inspected on the starboard side, and there are some repairs that have been conducted to No. 2 fuel oil tank", Mr Maroc said. "On the completion of those repairs I would believe that the MSA would be satisfied that the vessel could be moved to a port of refuge, where further temporary repairs could be conducted before the vessel is repositioned overseas."

27 February 2002 – Splits in the hull of bulk Jody F. Millennium are so small a knife cannot fit into them, says United Salvage director Ian Hoskison. The splits will be completely sealed before the vessel leaves Poverty Bay, probably with epoxy. "They are splits rather than cracks", said Mr Hoskison. "They are so small you can't even get a knife into them". Divers inspected about three-quarters of the hull on Monday (25 February), during a 12-hour dive, and were back in the water at 07.00, yesterday. The inspection was expected to be completed by lunchtime. Mr Hoskison said damage to the hull so far was what "one would expect from a vessel buffeted by two storms". "Nothing is not repairable", he said. There was no danger to the fuel tanks. The five divers are using helmet-mounted television cameras, beaming pictures back to the Titirangi where all damage is plotted on the vessel's plans. The vessel has been approved for tow to another New Zealand port where the cargo will be discharged, but it has not yet been given the green light for tow to an overseas port. It is up to the owners which overseas port the vessel heads to. She will probably leave today. Most of the salvage team will stay on the vessel until the discharge port, or port of refuge as they call it. Mr Hoskison expected the Sea Tow 25 to berth yesterday, be re-rigged and collect the ground tackle. The salvage of the vessel is likely to cost about $4.7 million dollars. Reports will be written and proposals given to the MSA once the salvors get the data on the safety aspects of the port of refuge. The city beaches are once again open for swimming and surfing, but seafood gathering is still banned. On-scene commander John Lee-Richards said once he was satisfied the vessel posed no more threat than any other, then the booms would be removed.

27 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium is likely to be towed out of Poverty Bay to the port of Tauranga today. She will be towed by Melbourne-based tug Keera and escorted by the Sea Tow 25. Salvors completed repairs to the cracks in No. 3 tank last night. Other effective repairs have been made to transport the Jody F. Millennium to a port of refuge for further repairs to be made. An anchor was to be attached to the Jody F. Millennium today. It is not known where the vessel's two anchors lie. The 500m sea exclusion zone around the vessel and attendant tugs will remain until the vessel departs Poverty Bay. It is expected that MSA will begin its demobilisation from midday. Work continues on disassembling and cleaning boom gear and deflating the lancer barges. Boom gear will not be removed from the Wherowhero Lagoon area until after the vessel has left Poverty Bay, probably tomorrow. Lightly-soiled equipment will be cleaned and packed away in Gisborne and returned to its source. This could take up to two weeks. However, the larger heavily-oiled equipment will be packed away as is and taken out of the district to another clean-up site. Gisborne beaches have opened for swimming, but remain closed for seafood gathering. Some tar balls may continue to come ashore and these will be cleaned up. Some residual oil remains on rocks at the Waikanae Cut and on piles in the harbour and river. A final assessment of clean-up requirements is to be undertaken in the next few days to determine restoration and the need for any ongoing monitoring.

28 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium left Poverty Bay at about 18.00, 27 February in tow of tug Keera bound for Tauranga, where a berth will not be available until the morning of 2 March.

28 February 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium left Poverty Bay yesterday evening at about 18.00 hrs. It is being towed by Melbourne tug Keera to Tauranga, where further repairs will be carried out. All of the Maritime Safety Authority's requirements concerning seaworthiness and safety were met before the vessel left Poverty Bay. The agreed passage plan will see the Jody F. Millennium maintaining a distance of 20-30 nautical miles from the coast. She is expected to arrive in Tauranga 2 March. The MSA has begun to demobilise its operations in Gisborne. The Wildlife Recovery Centre will be packed up today. All of the boom gear, including that at Wherowhero Lagoon, is expected to be out of the water today. It may take up to two weeks before the cleaning and packing of gear is complete. Three teams were to start shoreline assessments at low tide today at Kaiti Beach, Sponge Bay and the Waikanae-Midway beaches. These will continue beyond Young Nick's Head and to Okitu. Some tar balls may continue to come ashore and these will be cleaned up. Some residual oil remains on rocks at the Waikanae Cut and on piles in the harbour and river. A final assessment of clean-up requirements is to be undertaken in the next few days to determine restoration options and the need for any ongoing monitoring.

2 March 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium is likely to berth in Tauranga late this afternoon, after being towed from Gisborne. About 20,000 tonnes of the vessel's log cargo will be taken off before temporary repairs are made to the hull, so she can be towed to another country for repairs. The vessel has a badly damaged rudder and steering and propeller, but the biggest dry dock in the country, at the Devonport Naval Base in Auckland, is too narrow to take her. She was due to be towed into Tauranga about 17.30 hrs by tug Keera. Three other tugs were to help with the final berthing. The Port of Tauranga has ordered divers to inspect the vessel before she enters the harbour, to ensure there were no risks of further oil leakage. Tauranga Harbourmaster, John Dickinson, said the vessel would probably be in the port for eight days.

1 March 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium has berthed in Tauranga, after being towed from Gisborne. A hole in the side of her hull will be repaired there. Port workers are expected to spend most of the night unloading 18,000 tonnes of logs from the vessel. Then five divers will start patching up the hole tomorrow. Once the repairs have been carried out the vessel will be towed by tug to Singapore, as there is no dry dock big enough in New Zealand to fix the steering equipment.

4 March 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium has found refuge at the Port of Tauranga for the next week. After a three-day voyage under tow from Gisborne, where it spent 18 days stranded on a sandbar off Waikanae Beach, the 150m vessel berthed safely on Saturday (2 March) evening. Hundreds of people packed every vantage point at Mt Maunganui to watch the vessel leave choppy seas and enter the calm harbour at 18.30, local time. Pulled by the big orange Melbourne-based tug Keera, she was escorted by three port tugs, one on either shoulder and another at the stern. "There were no problems whatsoever", said Tauranga harbour-master John Dickinson, who is also Environment Bay of Plenty's maritime manager. A 50m exclusion zone has been placed around the vessel to protect divers repairing a ruptured water ballast tank. The vessel's remaining cargo of 20,000 tonnes of logs is expected to be unloaded by mid-week. About 4,000 tonnes were removed by helicopters at Gisborne during the attempts to re-float the vessel. The logs are being trucked to storage outside the port. United Salvage director Ian Hoskison said they would be delivered to seven owners, some in New Zealand and others overseas. The logs, which have deteriorated over the last few troubled weeks, could still be fit for export "if they are quick about it", Mr Hoskison said yesterday. The vessel's owners and the Maritime Safety Authority are still discussing what to do with 500 tonnes of heavy fuel oil still on board.

7 March 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium completed discharge of all log cargo at Tauranga late on the evening of 5 March. Diving work continues on repairs to the large hole in No. 5 starboard water ballast tank. The damaged rudder is to be removed and stowed on deck for the planned tow to Singapore for repairs. Earliest sailing date is estimated to be 11 March. Discussions are still taking place about whether the heavy fuel oil now stored in topside ballast tanks needs to be removed before the tow commences.

13 March 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium is likely to leave Tauranga within a few days, without her cargo or rudder and with her propeller shaft locked to stop it turning. The rudder was cut off and stowed in the No. 1 hold on Sunday (10 March) after the vessel was towed to Tauranga a week ago. Several small splits in the hull had been repaired by salvage workers in Tauranga but the biggest crack in the No. 5 water ballast tank would also have a concrete box poured over it from the inside, United Salvage chief Ian Hoskison said. "We will redeliver to the owners when the cement box is set and we would expect (that to be) today or tomorrow. The owners have to satisfy the Maritime Safety Authority and then she can go." The vessel is likely to be towed to a south-east Asian port, possibly Singapore, for permanent repairs. It is understood the repair tender has yet to be let and she is likely to get her final destination after the Sea Tow has started. Mr Hoskison said the lack of a rudder would not affect the tow and the vessel had got off relatively lightly with no obvious structural damage. Maritime Safety Authority deputy director Bruce Maroc said yesterday that the authority had been asking for ten days for safety documents on the water ballast tanks, which now held heavy fuel oil. The documentation arrived yesterday and was being analysed. If the authority was not satisfied with that, the oil would be removed, which could lead to a delay of several days, he said.

15 March 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium's unexpectedly long stay in New Zealand waters is about to end. It is hoped that the vessel will be towed out of New Zealand waters on Sunday (17 March). The vessel has been in the Port of Tauranga for longer than expected, being made ready for her big sea voyage, after sustaining some damage when she was stranded off Gisborne. The Maritime Safety Authority's Bruce Maroc says he cannot confirm her final destination but it was understood that she would be going to south-east Asia. He says a number of conditions have to be met before the vessel can leave, including documentation certifying her repairs.

19 March 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium left Tauranga at 10.45 today in tow of tug Keera, bound for Asia, no other destination known. All three port tugs were used in the departure and tug Te Matua will escort the vessel out to a distance of 30 nautical miles.

19 March 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium remained at the Port of Tauranga today, after being prevented from leaving port yesterday by high winds. The decision to wait until the weather settled was made by United Salvage, whose tug Keera would be undertaking the first stage of the 40-day tow to an Asian shipyard. Port of Tauranga operations manager Nigel Drake said today the salvors required light winds for the first three days of the tow. "I guess it's the one time you can control the tow in the 40-day voyage", he said. Earlier today wind gusts across the harbour were recorded at 30-40 knots. Mr Drake said if the wind dropped tomorrow as expected, the vessel would depart about 11.00 hrs the same way she arrived, under tow and surrounded by Port of Tauranga tugs as she was guided through the entrance channel. The ship has been at the Port of Tauranga since 2 March, undergoing repairs after being blown ashore at Gisborne on Waitangi Day. While at Mt Maunganui, the remainder of the ship's log cargo was unloaded while divers patched holes in the ship's hull. The ship's damaged 16-tonne rudder was also cut free. The Keera was expected to rendezvous with the Japanese tug Sieka Maru No. 2, which would take over the tow north of New Zealand. The salvors have not announced a final destination.

21 March 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium is on the way to Asia for repairs. The vessel was towed out of the Port of Tauranga, on Tuesday (19 March), after temporary repairs to the hull and rudder, following the vessel's grounding off Gisborne. The damaged rudder was removed and the propeller shaft locked in place for the tow. The vessel has generator power on board only and is not using its main engine. The Australian salvage tug Keera will tow Jody F. Millennium to New Caledonia, where a Japanese tug will take over the tow. Nigel Drake, the Port of Tauranga operations manager, said the vessel caused no problems during its stay in the port. Divers repaired the cracks in Tauranga and cut off the rudder, which had been jammed against the propeller by the grounding. The vessel is likely to be towed at four to five knots on the trip to an Asian port, which is expected to take 40 days.

3 May 2002 – Bulk Jody F. Millennium is likely to leave its owners and insurers with a bill close to $15 million from the 18 days it was stuck on a Gisborne sandbar. Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) director Russell Kilvington said the clean-up bill alone was more than $2.5 million. The bill was about to be sent to the vessel's insurers, who had undertaken to pay most, if not all, of it, Mr Kilvington said. There was also an estimated cost of $6 million to get the vessel off the beach and a similar $6 million bill for repairs, at a Japanese dry dock, to the badly damaged hull. The vessel was towed to Japan, where it went into dry dock, on 24 April, to fix several splits in the hull. The cost of the 40-day tow from Tauranga to Japan is not known but it is expected to run into hundreds of thousands of dollars. The cost to the New Zealand authorities would be paid by the vessel's liability insurers.

4 February 2002 – New Carissa (Panama)

Three years after wood-chip New Carissa ran aground her stern is still there. The 200-foot stern section, plus a crane that once sat on deck near the bow, is slowly crumbling. The wreck is largely clean; anemones have taken residence inside the engine-room. But while New Carissa may feel permanent, battles are being fought to determine what will happen to the tons of steel still littering the Oregon coast. The Oregon Division of State Lands wants it removed and has filed a lawsuit demanding the ship's owner pay $1,500 a day, now more than $1.6 million, as long as it remains. But New Carissa's owner, Green Atlas Shipping of Panama, said pounding seas make it too dangerous to remove the vessel. But all the damage from the wreck, particularly to populations of threatened shore birds, has not been assessed yet. With more than $30 million already spent on clean-up, the accident could end up requiring millions more before anyone can even think about what to do next. "The fallout is just tremendous", said Larry Mangan, senior wildlife biologist with the federal Bureau of Land Management, whose land abuts the shipwreck site. "It'll be a while before it's all sorted out. It'll be years". Following the grounding about 2,400 seabirds have died, including 262 threatened marbled murrelets. Since the birds are protected, federal law requires that new habitat be acquired. Murrelets feed in the ocean but nest in old coastal forests. The government must now find new tracts of mature forests to help make up for the dead murrelets. It's an expensive proposition. "Most older habitats are already in public hands", said Mangan. "We'll have to go to private sellers. This could cost millions." The Coast Guard estimated in 1999 the spill's cost would exceed $35 million. Last August, the federal government sued New Carissa's owner to recover more than $7 million it spent on the clean-up. A year and a half after the wreck, Gov. John Kitzahber said Green Atlas and its parent corporation, Japan-based Taiheiyo Kaiun, should pay $25 million more if it refuses to salve the vessel. When the Bureau of Land Management finishes its assessment of what's necessary to restore the area to its pre-spill state, the bill will go even higher. Last June, a federal jury ordered Green Atlas Shipping to pay $1.4 million to Clausen Oysters, a farm with 700 acres of oysters in an inlet two miles from the wreck. Oil was drawn into the oyster beds with the tide, killing more than a third of the crop. Green Atlas has appealed the verdict. Lilli Clausen, who owns the company with her husband, Max, expects to begin harvesting the first oysters planted since the wreck. She said the spill nearly bankrupted them. "The good news is we finally have a crop not affected by the oil". Melinda Merrill, who represents Green Atlas, said her client will fulfil its obligations for the wreck. A year ago, Green Atlas sued the federal government for $96 million, alleging that bad government navigational charts led to the grounding. A Coast Guard report eight months after the wreck blamed the accident on the ship's master's decision to anchor so close to shore during a gale. Regardless of how the court rules on the suit and on other New Carissa litigation, Merrill said the owner aims to find an agreement that brings resolution. "The ship's owners won't walk away from it", she said. As it fights the state's lawsuit, Green Atlas has said the ship cannot be moved. Waves are too powerful, the hull too unpredictable. Try and move it, Merrill said, and somebody could get killed. "We haven't thrown our hands up yet", Merrill said. The two biggest barriers to any plan to leave the vessel are the state and the Bureau of Land Management. To get to the vessel, one must go through bureau land. Mangan said he does not see how a road could be built without endangering even more bird habitat. And the state, which controls the place where New Carissa sits, just wants it gone.

25 February 2002 – Ievoli Sun (Italy)

French examining magistrate Dominique de Talance has decided not to initiate proceedings against any of the parties involved in the loss of the chem. tank Ievoli Sun, the chemicals carrier which sank off the French Normandy coast 31 October 2000. Ms de Talance, who has already charged a number of people in connection with the sinking of the tank Erika in late 1999, gave no explanation for her decision, which was revealed by an unnamed French judicial source. It is understood, however, that the absence of serious pollution was the principal reason for her decision not to take action against the master of the Ievoli Sun or her Italian owner, Marnavi of Naples. The Ievoli Sun was en route from Fawley in Britain to Berre in southern France with a cargo of 6,000 tonnes of chemicals when she got into difficulty after taking on water on 29 October. Following the evacuation of her crew on the morning of 30 October, she was taken on tow to Cherbourg but never reached the port, slipping lower in the water until she finally sank shortly after 09.00 hrs 31 October, some 20km off Alderney in the Channel Islands and 35km off the French coast. It is thought that part of her bunker and some of the 4,000 tonnes of styrene she was carrying were released into the sea during or after the sinking but more than 3,000 tonnes of styrene and 88m³ of fuel oil were recovered by the Dutch salvage operator, Smit Tak, in the course of a six-week salvage operation which was completed in early June last year. A small amount of bunker oil, which the salvors were unable to reach, was abandoned on board the vessel, however, while diesel oil and more than 2,000 tonnes of iso-propanol and ethyl methyl ketone, which were not considered to be a pollution risk, were released into the sea. A provisional report into the casualty published by the French marine accident investigation bureau in November 2000 found that flooding of the forward part of the vessel, caused by an open hatch cover or chain wells which had not been watertight, was the most likely cause of the loss of the vessel.

13 March 2002 – French maritime safety experts have blamed the loss of the Italian chem. tank Ievoli Sun on human error and poor condition of equipment. The vessel sank in heavy weather off the Channel Islands in October 2000. In a report on the incident, the French Maritime Accident Investigation Office said various problems had been noted on the vessel during a port state control inspection in Rotterdam only a week before the loss. Among the various items of malfunctioning equipment were watertight doors that did not close properly. A further inspection was due to be carried out a fortnight after the sinking.

22 February – Nakhodka (Russia)

A total of 25.14 billion yen (about $5 million) in compensation will be paid to about 6,000 claimants over the January 1997 oil spill from tank Nakhodka in the Sea of Japan as a result of assessment of their claims by an international fund. The amount exceeded the maximum payment set by the London-based International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF), which assessed the claims, by about 2 billion yen. The amount includes 13.97 billion yen in compensation to the central government and the Maritime Disaster Prevention Centre, an agency of the Construction and Transport Ministry. If the government agrees with the assessment, the money will be paid to all parties that claimed compensation for damage caused by the oil spill. The excess of about 2 billion yen will be covered by a British insurance association that carried a policy on the Nakhodka taken out by the owners. The assessment marks a major step in settling the largest compensation suit involving a tanker accident in Japan. Those seeking compensation, including ten prefectures facing the sea from Shimane to Akita, and fishing and tourism businesses, initially demanded 34.84 billion yen. The assessment by the fund turned out to be 72 percent of the requested amount. The IOPCF studied whether damages claimed by the related parties were genuinely caused by the oil spill.