95bFM Underwater explorer warns submerged ship could be disastrous to the environment
12 July, 2023
Interview by Rawan Sadi, adapted by Mahdhi Osman-Penrice.
Underwater explorer Keith Gorden is concerned about the lack of action to combat the potential threat of an oil spill in the Hauraki Gulf from a World War II shipwreck that has remained submerged since 1940. Image: Hauraki Gulf.
After thirty years of negligence, the government is facing mounting pressure to take action on an oil-leaking shipwreck, the RMS Niagara, in the Hauraki Gulf.
During World War II, the RMS Niagara was on its regular course, coming from Sydney through Auckland on its way to Fiji. However, the ship was sunk 40 kilometres southeast of Whangārei by German mines.
Keith Gordon, a long-time underwater explorer, was the first person to raise an alarm over the vessel 33 years ago.
Gordon told 95bFM’s The Wire that the large ship was initially loaded with 4320 tons of oil, and it is estimated a significant proportion of oil remains submerged.
“There's no doubt, after 83 years there is still oil there.”
“There could be well over 1000 tons still remaining in those tanks. But at this stage, it's never really been assessed. We're working on assumptions from my observations.”
If this oil were to spill, it would be roughly three times what was spilled by the MV Rena shipwreck in 2011, which was described by previous Environment Minister Nick Smith as Aotearoa’s “worst maritime environmental disaster,” with salvage operations costing $700 million.
Conservationists are concerned that the RMS Niagara’s slowly-corroding tankers will leak large quantities of oil, leading to wide-scale environmental degradation throughout the Northland region.
Spilt oil can harm the environment in several ways, including physical harm to wildlife and their habitats, and the toxicity of the oil can poison human food resources.
Despite this imminent threat, Gordon said that the government and Maritime New Zealand has taken little action.
“I've personally approached various members of parliament and government entities, and a lot of them know the risk, but it's gonna cost money.”
The issue recently received renewed attention after the Hauraki Gulf Forum, a statutory body responsible for the protection of the area, voted to pass a resolution to address the environmental risk posed by the wreck.
Gordon believes a risk assessment is urgently needed to assess how much oil is still out there and the ship's structural integrity.
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