14 DAY TRIAL // Bad weather conditions seem to determine the delay of the cleaning process required after 350 tons of oil leaked into the water.
This event is already responsible for the death of 1,300 birds. If officials don't act fast to clean-up the mess, the entire ecosystem might suffer from the damaging influence of other 1,400 tons that are still on the ship.
The enterprise that took credit for the accident took out of its budget put on the table $800,000 to cover the costs of the cleanup process.
Also, this project is supported by the Mediterranean Shipping Company, which decided on Tuesday to contribute with a generous donation, highlighting its concern towards the seriousness of this matter.
MSC's officials declared that the oil spill has, in their opinion, a considerable damaging influence upon the environment and people's well being.
The organization insisted upon the fact that public opinion must be aware that the company hasn't got the slightest contribution in this dramatic event.
"We wish to emphasize that MSC does not own the Rena, we did not employ its crew and we are not responsible for the maintenance and operation of the vessel," affirmed the company's representatives.
Greece-based Costamare Inc. announced their intention of collaborating with authorities, volunteers and non-profit organizations in order to recreate the balance in that area and reduce the poisonous impact upon the environment.
So far, the authorities estimated that New Zealand's government will have to provide $3.2 million dollars, in order to deal with the present situation. Since the clean-up process doesn't end here, the costs might increase significantly.
After the spill, the volunteers and the companies that are handling the accident's consequences managed to take out approximately 100 tons of oil from the vessel.
After 29 hours of work, they decided on Monday that bad weather conditions might put their safety in danger. Therefore, it seemed like a good idea to stop the work until the weather shows signs of improvement.
Officials say there is still plenty of work ahead of them, since 1, 400 tons of oil are still on board.
Taking into consideration the effect it might have upon the environment, representatives reached the conclusion that they are presently taking care of an incident which reflects the most serious maritime environmental catastrophe that new Zealand has ever experienced.