Cruise Ship Viking Orion Denied Port Entries Due to “Biofouling” — What Happened?

Eight hundred passengers, reported to be mostly Americans, found themselves stranded on the cruise ship Viking Orion off South Australia for seven days after the ship was denied permission to dock in Adelaide, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Hobart, due to marine growth … Continue reading

Boat Capsize in NZ That Killed Five May Have Been Caused by Whale

The BBC reports that five people died in New Zealand after a birdwatching boat capsized, possibly after colliding with a whale. Eleven people, mostly from the birdwatching group, were onboard when the boat capsized on Saturday in Goose Bay near … Continue reading

Kitefin Shark, World’s Largest Bioluminescent Vertebrate, Photographed Off New Zealand

Researchers have photographed a large bioluminescent shark in deep water off New Zealand. The kitefin shark was a known species of ocean predator but was only recently discovered to be able to glow in the darkness of its deep-ocean environment. … Continue reading

New Zealand’s Astrolabe Reef Reclaiming the Rena — 2020 Shipwreck Survey

Almost a decade ago, the container ship MV Rena ran hard aground on Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga on New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty. The ship, carrying 2,100 containers and 1,700 tonnes of heavy fuel, would break up resulting in New Zealand’s … Continue reading

Deadly Volcanic Eruption on New Zealand’s White Island — 5 Dead and More Than 20 Missing

Passengers on RCL’s Ovation of the Seas who signed up for the excursion to White Island were promised “an unforgettable guided tour of New Zealand’s most active volcano. In fact, White Island is one of the most active volcanoes in the … Continue reading

Update: Leopard Seal Scat Memory Stick Owner Found

The owner of a USB memory card, which was found in a pile of leopard seal scat, has been located.  Last week we posted about USB memory card that was buried in a pile of leopard seal scat near Oreti Beach … Continue reading

Over One Million Square Miles of New Ocean Sanctuaries

It is easy to get caught up in the bad news. The oceans are filling with plastic. Coral reefs are dying due to ocean acidification caused by climate change.  Overfishing will wipe out all currently fished seafood by 2050. And … Continue reading

French Bomber of Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior Apologizes 30 Years Later

On July 10, 1985, agents of the French government planted mines and blew up Greenpeace‘s Rainbow Warrior  in the port of Auckland, New Zealand to prevent the ship to be used to protest a planned French nuclear test in Moruroa. Fernando Pereira, a photographer, drowned … Continue reading

600 Year Old Waka, a Voyaging Canoe, Links New Zealand to Polynesia

A waka, a 600 year voyaging canoe, was recently found on the New Zealand’s South Island’s West Coast.  The results of a study by University of Auckland researchers appeared recently in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.   The waka, … Continue reading

Historic Schooner Nina and Crew of Seven Missing Off New Zealand

The 70′ schooner Nina and her crew of seven have been reported missing. They sailed on May 29, from Opua in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand bound for Newcastle, Australia.  They were last hear from on June 4th, 370 nautical miles west … Continue reading

Update: Owners of Container Ship MV Rena Plead Guilty, Pay NZ$300K Fine

Daina Shipping, owner of the container ship MV Rena, has been fined NZ $300,000 (US $246,000) for discharging harmful substances after the Liberian flagged ship, ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga, New Zealand in early October of last year. The ship subsequently broke up … Continue reading