the Bay of Plenty becomes the Bay of Tar

The Greek-owned Rena container ship - still in one piece but not for much longer.

Thick toxic fuel sludge carpets the beaches, this will get worse.

It has happened in other countries and now a boozy party aboard a Greek-owned container ship to celebrate the captain's birthday and an intoxicated second officer in charge has caused it to happen here - in calm, clear conditions the ship sailed into a well-charted reef 20 km from Mt Maunganui (Tauranga). So far the Mount Maunganui Beach has beeen closed, 50 tonnes of solid waste and five tonnes of liquid waste has been collected out of an estimated 350 tonnes spilled into the sea, and an estimated 90 containers have tumbled into the sea, spewing their contents.

It's obvious that it is all going to get much worse with about 1300 tonnes of fuel sludge still in the ship and about the same number of containers awaiting their crash into the sea.

Should Steven Joyce have done more to ensure that Maritime NZ was prepared in such an event, including a purpose-built fuel salvage vessel?  Obviously.  Another environmental disaster unfolds.