WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- With salvage teams working to get oil from a vessel stranded off New Zealand's coast, authorities said Tuesday reports of new oil was actually an algal bloom.
A large crack is apparent on the starboard side of the cargo vessel Rena, which is stuck on a reef off the coast of New Zealand. Cleanup crews on beaches have removed close to 1,000 tons of solid waste after as much as 2,000 barrels of oil leaked from the ship stuck in the Bay of Plenty.
Rough weather last week caused residual oil to resurface. Rob Service, on-scene commander for the Rena response, said reports of new oil on beaches turned out to be an algal bloom, however.
"At this time of year when there are warm temperatures and calm seas, algal blooms are quite common," he said in a statement.
Twenty members of a salvage team are on the Rena working to remove oil from a tank on the ship's damaged starboard side.
Maritime New Zealand, the agency in charge of the Rena response, pumped sea water into the tank to get the oil to rise. MNZ officials said pumps and hoses were connected and divers were working on pumping operations as of Tuesday morning.
