Work to unload containers from the Rena is unlikely to resume this morning as strong winds continue to whip up seas around the stricken ship.
The container removal operation remained on hold last night as a bout of bad weather hampered salvage work on the ship, which grounded on the Astrolabe Reef of the Tauranga coast last month.
Maritime New Zealand this morning said the vessel was still intact its condition had not changed overnight, but it remained "fragile'' and was at the mercy of the sea.
Salvors were monitoring the ship last night from the tug Go Canopus, which remained connected to it.
Conditions were still extremely windy this morning and there was a low probability of container removal work resuming at this stage.
Salvors would attempt to get on board later this morning, depending on weather and safety issues.
The most precariously positioned containers, which had been leaning in a pancaked stack at the Rena's stern, were among nearly 100 removed by container recovery company Braemar Howells.
The company also agreed to reopen a section of beach at Papamoa that had been fenced off for "last resort'' use as a temporary depot to bring badly damaged containers ashore.
But a 50sq m area of beach would remain fenced off to store oil spill response equipment, machinery and decontamination materials.
Experts were meanwhile preparing to release more wildlife as their habitats were cleaned.
A team is due to visit Rabbit Island tonight, where the first little blue penguins were released on Tuesday.
There were no fresh reports of oil ashore overnight and beach clean up operations would continue today.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace has called on authorities to answer "serious questions'' over the chemical used to disperse oil from the Rena after a top environmental adviser admitted scientists were "in the dark'' about its effects.
Maritime New Zealand sprayed about 200 litres of Corexit 9500, the chemical used during the large spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year, to try to break down oil from the Rena in the early days of the disaster.
Authorities eventually scrapped the operation after it proved ineffective against oil floating on water.
Its use sparked outrage among environmental groups, some scientists and veterans of the gulf spill, with many Tauranga residents voicing concern and at one public meeting last month.
The holder of Waikato University's chair in coastal science, Professor Chris Battershill, said the coming months would reveal the environmental impact of the dispersants.
"This is the first big oil spill in New Zealand's history. We've quickly realised what isn't known in this country about oil dispersants and toxicology.
"Unfortunately we know little about the toxicology of the dispersants on New Zealand species. Right now we need to learn more about the coastline and the food chain implications.''
More than 20,000 birds are thought to have fallen victim to the Rena's oil, and a ban on the collection of seafood is still in place.
"The relevance of dispersant toxicology on New Zealand species is a huge gap in our knowledge,'' Professor Battershill said.
"We are using similar dispersants used in the Gulf of Mexico disaster and are in the dark as to the short-term lethal effects versus the long-term effects on the food chain and ecology.''
Professor Battershill said the university would soon have a clearer picture of how long the marine environment would take to recover.
Greenpeace spokesman Steve Abel said the group was "very concerned'' when it learned Corexit 9500 was being used.
"There certainly needs to be some serious questions asked as to how we would react to other spills, given the dispersants used by Maritime New Zealand weren't having any effect and only added to the toxic load borne by the marine life.
"I hope that out of any research the university gives to the authorities will come advice against the use of Corexit.''
- APNZ and Jamie Morton, New Zealand Herald
