The freight carrying ship Rena ran aground in Astrolabe reef off Tauranga in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty on October 5th. Oil from the vessel escaped once the vessel began to break up after being pounded on the reef by heavy seas and has reached surrounding beaches and islands, coating rocks and killing birds and fish. 88 containers have fallen off the ship after it began to list and have drifted on currents as has the escaped oil more than 130km south down to the East Cape.