New Zealand: Rena Salvage Operation on Hold Again

The Smit Borneo departed the wreck on Saturday due to poor weather conditions, and is likely to remain in port this week due to forecast bad weather from Tuesday through until Sunday.

The weather forecast for Astrolabe reef is for rough seas of up to 8m, peaking on Tuesday/Wednesday this week.

Helicopter lifting operations continued over the weekend, with more debris lifted from the wreck.

The wreck remains in a fragile state and will continue to deteriorate the longer it remains exposed to the elements. The forecast bad weather may result in further damage or movement of the wreck, along with the potential loss of more containers or container debris.

Salvors and the Braemar Howells container recovery teams remain ready to respond to any fresh loss of containers or debris from the wreck.

Containers

Container numbers recovered from the Rena stands at 685. This includes those recovered from the vessel and from the ocean and beaches.

Debris was identified at Whakatane and Ohope on Friday. A team is in the area today to move this refrigerated container foam that was collected on Friday and moved up above the tide line.

A Braemar Howells team will also be at Orokawa Bay north of Waihi Beach today to stack timber on the beach. The timber will be heli-lifted to a barge for removal when the weather permits.

Braemar Howells has also spent time over the weekend putting contingency plans in place, ready for expected high swells predicted to hit the Mount Maunganui area mid-week. Anyone coming across containers or debris is asked to please call 0800 333 771.

MNZ/Spill response

A small amount of oil discovered on Leisure Island late last week has been cleaned up.

A small amount of oil found at Sulphur Point is being cleaned up today. The teams will tomorrow focus on removing a small amount of oil discovered around Mt Maunganui.

Beach surveys are being undertaken from Mt Maunganui to Kaituna today.

Contingency plans remain in place to escalate the spill response if required, especially with bad weather forecast later this week.

People are advised that oil is still inside the wreck and may continue to come ashore, particularly following periods of rough weather.

[mappress]

Source: Maritime NZ, April 2, 2012