New Zealand is facing its worst environmental disaster in decades after a container ship stranded off the North Island started leaking oil off Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty region.

The government has been trying to disperse the spill by spraying chemicals on it while other crews raced to remove the remaining oil from the vessel.

However, many people are angry at the authorities' slow response. Some believe that the this crisis could have been prevented.

Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal reports.