WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- New Zealand authorities said Wednesday they found a dozen small patches of sheen associated with a cargo vessel sinking in the Bay of Plenty.
Oil response teams were reactivated this week when high seas finally caused stranded cargo vessel Rena to start sinking. Maritime New Zealand, the agency responsible for salvage and cleanup operations, said a small amount of oil was released from the stricken vessel.
Roughly 2,000 barrels of oil spilled from Rena when it struck a reef in October. MNZ managed, through pumping operations, to get nearly all of the oil out of the vessel by December, however.
With Rena sinking, residual oil was released and MNZ said it observed around 12 patches of sheen, each measuring around 5,000 square feet. Most of that oil, the agency said, was breaking apart naturally by high swells.
Authorities said oil was still expected to reach area shores, though the trajectory could change because of prevailing conditions at sea.
A few soiled penguins were recovered and oil response teams were on standby to respond once residual oil reaches the shore.
