Police close North Island as shipping has gone ashore . The cargo ship broke in two over the weekend . It ran aground off New Zealand 's North Island in 2008 . Government : `` There is inevitably going to be a lot of mess and disturbance for the next few days while this is cleaned up and we would like people to use common sense and stay well away from the debris -- in some cases Spill is country 's most significant maritime environmental disaster .
Police close North Island as shipping has gone ashore . The cargo ship broke in two over the weekend . It ran aground off New Zealand 's North Island in 2008 . Government : Spill is country 's most significant maritime environmental disaster .