Editorial: Oil slick horror prompts questions

What started out as a ship hitting some rocks has escalated into a potential environmental catastrophe the likes we have never seen in the Bay and I am gutted.

The story of the Rena, a 236m cargo ship, striking the Astrolabe Reef six nautical miles off Motiti, has fast become the biggest story not only here but across the country for all the wrong reasons.

And as the hours ticked by yesterday and into this morning, it became increasingly obvious this accident is getting worse and makes me wonder if it will be sorted any time soon.

It emerged at 11.30am yesterday that oil was spewing from the crippled vessel and by last night had formed an oil slick of up to 6km, killing wildlife.

But as I watch in horror as this story develops, there are unanswered questions.

How on earth did the ship hit such a small reef in the first place?

I would have thought with all the fancy navigation systems big vessels have, the captain and his crew would have been able to steer clear of trouble.

How long will it take experts to salvage the ship - and can they prevent oil from ruining our slice of paradise? And just how safe is Rena? News that it had run into safety problems in Fremantle and has potentially flammable cargo on board makes me nervous.

A disaster like this has to be our worst nightmare - one which threatens to damage our waters and the marine life which are so important to us for so many reasons.

It is critical experts act quickly and get whatever help is needed.

There should be nothing that stands in the way of stopping the oil from spreading and saving the vessel.

Whatever equipment or expertise is needed must be made available - whatever the cost.

Maritime New Zealand staff have so far demonstrated they are in charge and their communication has been good.

They have provided regular updates and gone out of their way to answer questions.

They have also brought in plenty of other people from different organisations.

A number of inquiries are under way and it is vital they provide answers so we can prevent any further, similar accidents.

Ships are important to our local and national economy and I still think it's great how we are a major gateway for cargo ships.

But our clean, green environment is even more important and we need to have the confidence these giant ships are safe and being operated by suitable people.

This accident is unacceptable.

Someone or some organisation must be held accountable.

Our ocean waters are sacred and must be protected at all costs.