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The Hauraki Gulf Forum has warned that oil leaking from the wreck of the RMS Niagara, off Bream Head, is a ticking time bomb.
The Royal Mail Ship was sunk by a mine in 1940 and now rests at a depth of around 100-120 metres, near the Mokohinau Islands, off Whangarei.
Forum executive officer Alex Rogers said the wreck, like many sunken World War II ships, was hitting its “peak leak period”.
“Ruptures will occur as a natural result of the impact of corrosion and pressure on the wreck,” Rogers said.
“We know the Niagara still holds oil, because small leaks occur frequently, but we don’t know how much or when precisely the tanks holding the remaining oil will rupture.
“In the worst case scenario, the wreck may hold up to 1600 tonnes of heavy fuel oil – though not all of that would go at once.”
Rogers compared the amount of oil in the RMS Niagara to the Rena wreck that discharged around 300 tonnes of oil, off the coast of Tauranga in 2011.
The Environment Minister at the time, Nick Smith, called it New Zealand’s worst maritime environmental disaster.
Rogers said in 2018, Maritime New Zealand had sought funding to investigate the wreck, but had been turned down by the cabinet.
He said it was “unconscionable that we would let it keep ticking”.Rogers’ recently hosted a meeting of all interested parties to discuss how the forum could best influence a more proactive approach to help prevent the worst case scenario.
The forum will write to the Associate Minister for Transport, calling for a full cost-benefit and risk assessment on the wreck, including looking at the options for removing the remaining fuel.
