Mayor appeals for calm in N.Z. oil slick town

Salvage personnel are airlifted off the grounded container ship 'Rena' The mayor of a New Zealand tourist town with beaches blackened by oil from a crippled ship appealed for calm Friday, amid reports of an angry backlash against the Filipino crew.As salvage crews raced to stop more oil from seeping from the stricken Rena, which threatens to break in two after hitting a reef last week, Tauranga mayor Stuart Crosby urged the community not to vent its frustrations on the crew.
Responding to a report the Philippine embassy had flown most of the Rena's 25-man crew out of New Zealand "for their own safety", Crosby urged people to let the law take its course over the country's worst sea pollution disaster.
He emphasised the Rena's captain and second officer had been charged over the spill, which has fouled beaches and killed wildlife along a 60 kilometre (40-mile) stretch of coast on the environmentally sensitive Bay of Plenty.
"There needs to be accountability and that's taking place with regard to the captain and other officers," he told TVNZ.
"But in some respects that crew are victims as well, and I'd like to think that we'd be looking after them in a proper manner, as kiwis should."
Shipping agent Mike Hodgin, who has been helping the crew since they evacuated the Liberian-flagged ship after it ran aground, said the Philippine embassy had been assisting getting the sailors home.
"Only six are left. We cannot say where they are to protect their safety," he told The New Zealand Herald newspaper, which quoted members of the bay's small Filipino community saying they had been abused by furious locals.
The captain and second officer were released on bail after being charged over the spill this week, with the court also ordering that their identities be withheld to protect them.
But Crosby rejected an apology from the Rena's owners, Greek shipping company Costamare, which released a video statement saying it was "deeply sorry".
"It seemed to be half an apology and a lot of excuse," the mayor said.
"It's not good enough. I'd like to see the ship owner come to New Zealand, come to Tauranga, stand up in front of our people."
Meanwhile, salvage crews were set to resume a "highly risky" operation to try to pump remaining oil from the vessel, which has huge cracks in its hull after being battered by a storm and is teetering precariously on the reef.
Matt Watson, whose company Svitzer is leading efforts to save the vessel, said helicopters and navy vessels were on standby to evacuate the two three-man crews if the ship began to fall apart while they were onboard.
He said the decks of the badly listing ship were coated in oil and strewn with loose containers. The crews were working by torchlight in "pitch black" conditions when they were below deck.
"It's a very, very difficult working environment and the moment there is a sense that it may be too dangerous, or if anything changes, they will be getting back off that vessel quick smart," he told Radio New Zealand.
Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) said Thursday the Rena was "creaking and groaning and moving about a bit", with its stern rising and falling in the offshore swells but its front stuck fast on the rocky reef.
Up to 700 tonnes of oil has leaked from the vessel, creating a black tide that has killed hundreds of sea birds. The salvage crews hope to drain the Rena's fuel tanks to stop all 1,700 tonnes spewing into the sea.
A massive clean-up operation was also under way along the coastline, doubling in scale Friday to 1,000 people, MNZ said.
Authorities have ordered the public off oil-blackened beaches and advised nearby residents to keep their windows closed to avoid noxious fumes from the pollution.
MNZ said 500 dead birds had been recovered and teams were trying to round up seals in the area. They had caught four so far.