Maketu #6 Rena clean up news

October 19, 2011 | Filed under: Rena Disaster | Posted by: DigitalMaori

Times for Wednesday 19th October:

For training meet at the Marae at 4.00 pm, briefing and deployment 4.30 pm.

  • Kia ora all! Well I don’t know where you beach cleaners and marae and other volunteers get the energy. Another great effort today. It just keeps happening.. A group of about 20 volunteers concentrated on the marae side of the beach, and did a thorough clean up. Its painstaking work and you need a good sense of humour I am told. Love to you all.
  • Pia asks volunteers to get prepared for another oil spill expected to reach us Friday and seeks volunteers for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Stay prepared. Weather is causing problems. Newsletter will alert you all, keep in touch.
  • Story of the day: The ICC (forgotten what that stands for) But call it the HQ, said they were sending out a rock cleaning expert from Australia to give advice and techniques for cleaning rocks!!!!!! So Ven, the CEO of Oil Response Co. of Australia duly turns up. Tania’s dad Chris takes him out. Chris finds anoil baked rock and asks Ven what he would do? Ven says he would use solvent!!!! Chris then does his thing with the moss stuff. Leaves it comes back rolls it up and hey presto its done. Well Ven left Maketu saying he was the one who did the learning from Maketu. We are teaching the overseas experts! Our fame continues to grow! Too much the rockers.
  • Talking of overseas experts Julian Fitter reports meeting with three guys from ICC, two from SI, plus an oil spill expert from UK re booms. Plan is to replace the existing boom with a larger diameter one possibly anchored in the middle on the diving platform. Secondly a large orange floating boom from the reserve at the end of Wilson Road, across to the Spit. This will be a diversion boom which would divert oil to a catchment area near the reserve where it could be removed. This boom will only be installed in the event of a threat of a major spill approaching.
  • Julian’s concern is that as this has to go through a bureaucratic process, that it might not be seen as high enough up the priority scale. The booms recognise that cleaning up an estuary is harder than a sandy beach. For Little Waihi, the best option was thought to be to do some remedial work on the existing boom. There was also a feeling that Okurei Point and the strong outflow from Little Waihi, provides quite a lot of natural protection.. Julian reportsneed to change the anchor point at this end so that it is lower down. Ian at the Holiday Camp has indicated that he can help.
  • Pia says that the communications with a few key people at HQ is going really smoothly for the marae team now and wants to acknowledge the chaps who are a key to keeping Maketu running smoothly. Kia ora Carlton, Braydon, Pim and Harley. We’ll have to invite them to our party too.
  • Oil has reached the yellow boom and the eel grass was covered.
  • Heard Phil Goff on morning radio or was it TV talking about Maketu experience.
  • New oil spill at Harrison’s cut (Papamoa) is a bit close for comfort.
  • The Rena is in a bad condition and the plan is to tow the stern (the part that’s due to break away) into shallower waters so that oil recovery can still be done. Otherwise if it falls into the 80 metres depth at the astrolabe this will present significant problems.

accessed 21 Oct 2011

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