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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2011
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World’s
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Sir Paul’s third
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TRAVEL
Gear,Donald join
embattledAll Blacks
RugbyHerald
Streaking granny grounded A3
Piri’s family
tragedy
Celebration for All Blacks’ man of the match
turns to tears as he learns of grandfather’s death
by Abby Gillies of APNZ
Piri Weepu went from triumph to tragedy an
hour after inspiring the All Blacks to quarterfinal victory when he was told that his
grandfather had died.
As a near-capacity crowd streamed
out of Eden Park after New Zealand’s
33-10 win over Argentina, Weepu’s
parents were preparing to break
the news of Johnny Lui’s death
to their man-of-the-match
son.
The 28-year-old, who
kicked seven penalties, was
celebrating with team-mates
when he received the call from
father Bill on Sunday.
Bill said he could hear the emotion in
his son’s voice when when he delivered the
bombshell.
‘‘He was really cut up and he could hardly
talk. I knew he was crying.’’
The news came during an emotional 24
hours for the All Blacks.
Mils Muliaina was also tearful yesterday
as a fractured shoulder ended his All Black
career, and Colin Slade was ruled out of the
World Cup with a groin injury. They have
been replaced by Hosea Gear and Stephen
Donald.
Mr Lui, 78, had been in and out of
hospital in Wellington for some time, and
then developed pneumonia.
He was stable until Thursday night, but
died on Friday morning. Bill and his wife
Kura then faced the agonising decision of
whether to tell their son before Sunday’s
crunch clash.
They decided to wait, so he would stay
focused on the field.
‘‘I thought it could
affect his build-up to
the test,’’ said Bill. ‘‘I
thought he should
concentrate on the
game and because I
thought he’d want to
come home — he’s
very family oriented.’’
After hearing how
upset his son was, Bill
called one of Weepu’s
team-mates to check
Johnny Lui
on him.
He called his son again yesterday
morning and he was doing okay.
It is Weepu’s second bereavement blow
in less than a year — his maternal
grandfather, John Turner, died at Easter.
Weepu’s brother Billy said the All Blacks
squad had rallied around the halfback.
‘‘He had to deal with it by himself but he
had the team to support him.’’
Weepu is to arrive in his hometown of
Wainuiomata this morning for the afternoon
funeral service.
Bill Weepu said he and the rest of the
family watched the All Blacks beat Argentina
and were proud of Weepu’s strong all-round
game.
‘‘Good to see him listen to what I tell
him,’’ he said. ‘‘I tell him to run with the ball
more.’’
Weepu, who will join the Blues for next
year’s Super Rugby competition, has played
54 tests.
He overcame disappointment over his
omission from the 2007 World Cup, and a
broken leg suffered when playing for
Wellington last year, to become a key
member of the All Blacks’ backline.
Piri Weepu led the haka and the scoring as the All Blacks beat Argentina.
Picture / Getty Images
Stricken ship’s safety issues revealed
by Jamie Morton and Isaac Davison
Safety issues dogged the stricken container ship spewing oil into the Bay of
Plenty as far back as July, it was
revealed yesterday.
The Rena was detained in Australia
that month, and 12 days ago it was
warned about problems with its safety
record during an inspection in Bluff.
Maritime New Zealand said
authorities found the Rena’s safety
checklist was not working effectively.
This meant mechanical failures,
some of which led to the Rena’s detention in Australia, were not picked up.
Yesterday, oil from the ship,
aground on the Astrolabe Reef, 20km
off Tauranga, reached Mt Maunganui’s
main beach.
Last night, TV3 and Investigate
magazine’s website reported that the
Rena came close to hitting an oil
tanker near Napier on October 2, two
days before it hit the reef. The reports
said the tanker took evasive action.
The Maritime Union has alleged the
Rena did not have proper navigation
charts.
Maritime NZ spokesman Ross Henderson said vessels were supposed to
have an ‘‘international safety management system’’.
‘‘The deficiencies that were being
picked up [in Bluff] indicated to us that
that system wasn’t working as
effectively as it should be.
‘‘It was not serious enough to warrant detaining the vessel, but it was a
matter we needed to note on the
record.’’
Maritime NZ recommended a
review in three months when the
Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned ship
was due in Singapore.
In July, the Australian Maritime
Safety Authority detained the Rena in
Fremantle after ‘‘a number of deficiencies’’ were found.
An authority spokesman told the
Herald the overnight detention was
‘‘not uncommon’’.
The crew had been asked to fix
defective hatchway covers and
incorrectly stowed cargo.
A spokesman for the company that
owns the Rena, Daina Shipping, last
night said the ship had a ‘‘clean bill of
BAD WEATHER, HOOK-UP PROBLEMS MAKE OIL REMOVAL A SLOW JOB
The Rena was carrying 1700 tones of fuel when it hit the Astrolabe Reef.
health’’ and its technical problems
were rectified before it left Australia.
He said the Rena was given the allclear for New Zealand waters after the
inspection at Bluff on September 28.
There were no problems with the
ship’s navigation and charting systems
and a full investigation would be made
into why it struck the reef.
Yesterday, Defence Force troops
were called in to help in the clean-up as
oil blobs began to wash up on kilometres of otherwise pristine beach.
Three hundred troops from Auckland, Tauranga and Canterbury have
mobilised to clear the oil, which Transport Minister Steven Joyce said could
continue to wash onshore for months.
■ Little progress has been made in
the long, slow job of ridding the MV
Rena of its 1700 tonnes of oil and
200 tonnes of diesel.
■ The bunker barge Awanuia,
capable of off-loading 3000 tonnes,
has been able to pump only 10
tonnes amid bad weather and
trouble hooking up to the Rena.
■ In good conditions, the pumping
would take between 30 to 40 hours.
But the 25-person salvage team
onboard made a small step forward
by transferring all of the oil from one
of the port tanks in the grounded
end of the ship to a rear tank, where
it is safer.
■ Salvors are trying to repeat the
process on the Rena’s starboard
side, but must extract volatile gases
before the oil operator can start
using pumps.
The arrival of the tar-like patties of
oil at Mt Maunganui and Papamoa
beaches yesterday morning brought
home the reality of the crisis looming
20km offshore, where the leaking,
grounded container ship continues to
threaten environmental disaster.
Authorities are facing criticism
over a delay in warning about the oil.
Many more of the sticky oil clumps
are expected to wash further up the
beaches over the next few days amid
worsening weather, high tides and
heavy swells.
Papamoa resident Sandra Williams
said thousands of people living near
the beach wanted to help but ‘‘there’s
no leadership going on here’’.
‘‘It’s appalling,’’ one woman muttered, while stepping around a large
clump.
Many people were angered by the
lack of response to the foul sight and
began scooping up the oil themselves.
But only after midday — when children had already been seen with hands
covered in oil — did authorities ask
people to keep away and warned of
serious health risks.
The clean-up operation was to begin
at low tide this morning.
Protective booms have been placed
at the vulnerable Maketu Estuary, but
Maritime NZ’s on-scene commander,
Rob Service, could not guarantee they
would stop the oil harming its wildlife.
A wildlife base at Mt Maunganui
has received nine birds, including
seven little blue penguins, but no new
birds were brought in yesterday.
Veterinarian Brett Gartrell said it
would be impossible to gauge how
much wildlife could die in the slick, but
only 10 per cent of all affected wildlife
was expected to be recovered.
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Volunteers stepped in to start removing
fuel oil from the Rena washed on to Mt
Maunganui’s main beach yesterday.
Picture / Alan Gibson
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