I remember coverage of this after the Jody F Millennium ran aground in 2002, and during the Rena clean-up in 2011. Apparently they’ve been warning us for 33 years now. This is one of those things that gets ignored until it’s too late, then everyone starts pointing fingers. Partly because anyone who does what we need to do now won’t get the credit they deserve. It’s the fixers who get called heroes, not the preventers.

Didn’t expect to be dropping ancient Chinese philosophy here, but I couldn’t help but think of this story:

A lord of ancient China once asked his physician, a member of a family of healers, which of them was the most skilled in the art.

The physician, whose reputation was such that his name became synonymous with medical science in China, replied, “My eldest brother sees the spirit of sickness and removes it before it takes shape, so his name does not get out of the house.

“My elder brother cures sickness when it is still extremely minute, so his name does not get out of the neighborhood.

“As for me, I puncture veins, prescribe potions, and massage skin, so from time to time my name gets out and is heard among the lords.”