Small amounts of oil from a container ship stuck on a reef has started washing up at a popular New Zealand beach today, while work to extract oil from the vessel was called off because of weather concerns.

SALVAGE crews were scrambling to off-load oil from a stranded container ship in New Zealand’s pristine Bay of Plenty yesterday, as Prime Minister John Key demanded to know why the vessel hit a reef in calm waters.

An operation to extract oil from a container ship that is stranded on a reef near New Zealand is set to begin.

SHIPS are on alert and maritime authorities are monitoring the movements of hundreds of menacing icebergs drifting toward New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean, officials said.

New Zealand’s maritime safety authority warned ships in the South Pacific today to be on the lookout for falling satellite debris as the US attempts to shoot down a crippled spy satellite.

A maritime warning has been issued after about 100 icebergs were spotted south of New Zealand, some floating in a major ocean shipping lane.