WELLINGTON (Reuters) – the owners of a ship run aground on a reef coast outside of a popular destination in New Zealand were accused of causing the worst country in decades environmental disaster, maritime officials said on Thursday.
Daina Shipping, a unit of the Greek Costamare Inc., was accused of pouring harmful substances once his ship Rena of 47.230 tons and flag of Liberia, struck in reef at about 20 km offshore of Tauranga, the largest export port of New Zealand in early October of 2011.
Carries a maximum of 360,000 Australian dollars (488.000 dollars) fine.
The captain and second officer of the ship have already declared guilty of operating the boat in dangerous form, releasing toxic substances and altering documents of the vessel.
Two filipinos face sentences of up to seven years in prison. They will be formally sentenced in late May.
Maritime officials said high winds and the rough sea have beaten the wreck, making more containers from falling into the sea and spread the oil still out of the boat.
The vessel spilled around 300 tonnes of thick, toxic fuel oil when it struck the reef, killing thousands of sea birds and polluting beaches up to 100 kilometers of the reef.
(1 dollar = 1.23 $)
(Gyles Beckford report.) (Edited in Spanish by Patricio Abusleme)
