As the Rena crisis reached its most critical 24 hours amid a fresh oil spill and worsening weather yesterday, the heads of Mediterranean Shipping Company announced what they described as a "kind offering".
Its Australasian managing director, Kevin Clarke, said the company owners "genuinely feel the suffering" in the Bay of Plenty, but said the pledge was not made out of any moral obligation.
MSC New Zealand general manager Phil Abraham denied the company was pressured into donating.
"There's no guilt at all expressed by ourselves. We do feel for the people of Bay of Plenty. We felt a corporate responsibility to help."
But Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby felt the donation was not enough.
"It's a reflection of at least a degree of concern, but you know, I get frustrated when you see members of our community on their hands and knees picking up the oil, and then these shipping lines have to be prodded to make a donation," he said.
"Hopefully, they do now understand the severity of the problem and it will continue to make contributions. The salvors and Maritime New Zealand will leave and our local communities will end up doing a lot of the restoration.
"I don't see why our ratepayers and community should have to fund any part of this. It needs to be totally funded by those who are responsible and accountable."
An invitation for the head of vessel owner Costamare Shipping to make a public apology in the Bay of Plenty was still to be taken up.
Costamare and its insurer, the Swedish Club, said Costamare had cover which included pollution liabilities and its obligations would be "met in full".
However, a spokesman could not confirm whether the cover would meet the total cost of the cleanup bill, which now stands at $4 million and is expected to run into tens of millions of dollars.
"Valid pollution claims will be considered in the process," was all he would say last night.
Commercial fishers barred from entering an exclusion zone around the Rena are also yet to learn what compensation will be offered.
Prime Minister John Key held closed-door talks yesterday over what he called "a small and distinct" group of businesses, but later said the amount of support would depend on the outcome of the disaster.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett was drafting a scheme with help from Tauranga's Chamber of Commerce.
Officials also met affected tourism operators last night.
Officials were last night praying the cracked and grounded Rena would survive another night on Astrolabe Reef amid high winds and large swells expected to have reached up to 4m.
Salvors were due to return to the ship at first light today to continue offloading its remaining oil load after bad weather again halted operations yesterday.
Eighty-eight containers had been lost overboard - 30 still unaccounted for - and it was expected that number would have risen by this morning.
The bad weather also put a stop to planned beach cleanups yesterday.
Rena's forward section remained firmly pinned to Astrolabe Reef, but its stern, hanging over the edge by about 60m, was being moved about in the waves and tide changes.
Maritime New Zealand salvage unit manager Andrew Berry said the pumping situation was "unpredictable" but was to be sped up using a booster pump and reducing friction in the oil.
A white oil sheen with smaller amounts of darker oil had leaked from the ship yesterday morning, but Mr Berry said the northerly slick was being naturally broken up by waves about 2km away.
