Salvage crews are racing against the clock to save a stranded cargo ship off the coast of New Zealand as bad weather could split the vessel in two and spew more oil into the sea and onto beaches.
The Liberian-flagged Rena has been stuck for 12 days on a reef 14 miles (22 km) off Tauranga on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, having already spilled about 350 tonnes of toxic fuel and some of its hundreds of containers into the sea.
However, stormy weather is in the forecast which will halt the salvage operation and possibly send the stern section, which contains more than 1,000 tonnes of oil, tumbling into 60 metres of water.
