Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) welcomed the release of the independent review of its response to the grounding of the Rena, and the announcement of $2m of Government funding to help improve New Zealand’s maritime response capability.
The report, by independent reviewer Simon Murdoch, was released today by Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee.
MNZ Director Keith Manch said the organisation was already implementing a number of the review recommendations and the funding package would help MNZ develop a wider strategic and operational response to maritime incidents.
In the review report, Mr Murdoch made it clear the Rena grounding was unprecedented in its complexity but the response, while flawed in some aspects, had ultimately been effective.
After Rena hit the Astrolabe Reef on 5 October 2011, hundreds of oil spill responders and 8,000 volunteers removed around 1,000 tonnes of oily waste from the coastline, recovered more than 4,500 tonnes of containers and debris and rescued hundreds of oiled birds. Beaches closed as a result of oil were re-opened from 16 November 2011.
“The reviewer finds the response team overcame initial hurdles to set up a strong and effective team that worked closely with the local community. The response minimised the risks to wildlife and achieved a high quality, world class clean-up,” Mr Manch said. “The generally positive results of the Rena Recovery Plan’s scientific monitoring programmesupport this finding.”
Mr Manch said the response team faced a complex scenario involving not only oil recovery, but non-oil pollution from containers and resulting debris, as well as overseeing a difficult salvage operation.
“I’m very proud of the professional and sustained effort by people across MNZ but we certainly did not act alone. The success of the response was only possible due to the collaborative efforts of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, iwi, community groups, local government and other agencies such as the Department of Conservation, the Defence Force, and Massey University’s Wildlife Health Centre.”
The review states: “As is often the case, imperfections in systems, plans and structures, which are to be expected in any crisis, can be overcome by a workforce that is motivated and well managed.” (8.6)
“The review identifies a range of areas for improvement including: being better prepared (strategically and operationally) across government and with response partners; having greater capability and training; improved administration; revising the structure of the incident command centre (ICC); and better engagement with communities and iwi.”
Mr Manch said a work programme was already underway to build on the lessons identified in the review. MNZ has:
The “Independent Review of Maritime New Zealand’s Response to the MV Rena Incident on 5 October 2011” report is available on Rena response page .
Maritime NZ, December 4, 2013