New Zealand Charges Owner of Grounded Ship Rena

Greek owner of NZ oil spill ship to pay up to USD 31mln The Greek owners of the ship at the centre of New Zealand's worst maritime environmental disaster agreed to pay up to USD 31 million towards the cost of the clean-up.

Although damage from the toxic oil spill and recovery of shipping containers has so far cost New Zealand nearly NZD 50 million, Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee said the offer from Daina Shipping was "the best possible outcome".

The ship Rena, carrying 1,368 containers, ploughed into an offshore reef 12 months ago spewing more than 300 tonnes of toxic fuel oil that killed thousands of sea birds and fouled beaches in the North Island's pristine Bay of Plenty.

Daina Shipping is to pay NZD 27.6 million to settle the claims of the government and several public bodies, and will pay a further NZD 10.4 million if it decides to leave part of the wreck on the reef.

"These agreements allow both New Zealand as a whole, and the Bay of Plenty region, to move on from what was, from an environmental standpoint, the worst maritime disaster in our history," Brownlee said.

Konstantinos Zacharatos, a director of Daina Shipping which is part of Costamare Inc., said the company wanted to "address all aspects of this serious incident. (AFP)