The captain of a cargo¹ ship that has grounded off New Zealand and is leaking oil into the sea has been arrested and charged, officials say.

一艘货船在新西兰海域搁浅并向海中泄露大量石油，该船船长已被逮捕并遭到起诉。

It is not clear how the Rena ran into the well-charted reef in calm weather
The captain was charged with "operating a vessel² in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk".

The 775ft (236m) Rena ran aground（搁浅） on a charted reef off the North Island port of Tauranga a week ago.

Officials say the fuel oil leaking from the ship has caused the country's worst environmental disaster in decades.

Maritime³ New Zealand (MNZ), which is managing the emergency response, said about 70 containers had fallen off the Rena after more bad weather overnight shifted the vessel into a heavy list.

The ship is carrying 11 containers of hazardous⁴（有危险的） materials, MNZ said, including ferrosilicon（硅铁合金） which is flammable upon contact with water.

MNZ said the hazardous materials containers were not among those that had fallen overboard.

But New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said stress fractures had been found on the Rena.

"We can't rule out the risk of the ship breaking up, that's certainly being monitored," he said.

Growing anger

On Tuesday, MNZ officials said the spill was much worse than originally feared, with as much as 350 tonnes of oil estimated to have leaked from the ship.

Environment Minister Nick Smith called it "New Zealand's worst environmental disaster in many decades".

MNZ said the Rena's captain had been charged under section 65 of the Maritime Transport Act. He faces a fine of $7,800 (£5,000) or a maximum prison sentence of 12 months if convicted.

More charges were likely, MNZ said.

He appeared at a court in Tauranga on Wednesday morning and was granted bail⁵ for one week, when he is next due in court.

Judge Robert Wolff granted his lawyer's request that the captain's name be suppressed because people "might want to take matters into their own hands".

The captain's passport has been confiscated⁶ and he is to remain at a nominated address approved by the prosecutors⁷ and make daily reports to a local police station subject to the needs of the salvage⁸ operation（海难救助作业） .

It is not clear how the vessel ran aground on a well-marked reef in calm weather.