Visitors to Mount Maunganui on Tuesday morning are reporting oil floating on the water around Salisbury Wharf.

“The smell is quite strong,” says a SunLive reader. “It reeks.”

Members of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Maritime and Compliance teams were back on site this morning in Pilot Bay.

"Unfortunately their mid-morning check revealed new signs of oil and/or diesel at the southern end of Waikorire Pilot Bay," says Duty Regional On-Scene Commander John Morris.

"The team is currently on the water looking to understand if this is part of the same event as yesterday or a new one."

Oil booms in the water next to Salisbury Wharf, Mount Maunganui on Tuesday afternoon. Photo: John Borren.

Maritime teams actively responded to a diesel and oil spill in Tauranga Harbour on Monday after council staff received several calls about oil on the water in Tauranga Harbour, north of Sulphur Point and around Waikorire Pilot Bay.

Initial estimates were that there was less than 100L of diesel and the public were asked to stay away from the area, particularly around Pilot Bay where the beach had been coned off by council staff.

Oil spill response team at Salisbury Wharf, Pilot Bay on Tuesday afternoon. Photo: John Borren.

Staff were not able to identify the source of the spill on Monday.

“We are investigating several potential sources,” says John.

He says today there appears to be a similar volume of oil and/or diesel to Monday’s event.

"This slick was not visible when the team carried out their first beach assessment at Waikorire/Pilot Bay first thing this morning."

A maritime team from Bay of Plenty Regional Council conducting a beach foreshore check for oil at 9am on Tuesday morning. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

Members of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s maritime team were seen checking the foreshore in Pilot Bay around 9am on Tuesday.

“There’s a bit of rubbish,” says one of the team, while checking through the beach sand and debris.

A SunLive reporter at the foreshore around 9am says there didn’t appear to be any oil along the beach at that time.

John also says the earlier assessment showed no evidence of oil and/or diesel on the beach.

"But a minor amount was sighted by the stone jetty on the northern end of Waikorire Pilot Bay," says John.

A maritime team from Bay of Plenty Regional Council conducting a beach foreshore check for oil at 9am on Tuesday morning. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

On Tuesday afternoon, a distinctive "oil smell in the air" was obvious, says a SunLive reporter at the scene.

Pilot Bay foreshore at low tide on Tuesday afternoon. Photo: John Borren.

John says the waste from Monday’s clean-up will be disposed of today.

At this point the source of the oil is still unknown.

"We are committed to a thorough investigation," says John.

"We have collected samples to assist in identifying the source if one is found."