New Zealand: Weather Disrupts Rena Salvage

Weather continues to affect salvage operations, with no activity yesterday (Sunday) due to swell and wind conditions.

Weather today is marginal for safe operations, so container removal activity today is unlikely.

While container removal operations are suspended, salvors will focus on installing patches in the corridors of the wreck, to improve buoyancy.

15 containers were removed from Rena by the crane barge Smit Borneo on Friday, with 13 removed on Saturday. A total of 195 containers have now been removed from the wreck.

A beach cleaning team is working today at Shark Alley/Leisure Island where some small amounts of oil have been seen, and the team will be working on the beach after every high tide.

Beach clean-up teams are working at Mōtītī on the north and western sides of the island. Clean-up teams are also working at Kulim and Fergusson Parks and Matakana Island.

Warm water rock washing is continuing at Mauāo.

No beach grooming will be done today because of the weather.

The weather forecast is for continuing showers and patchy rain, with heavier rain forecast for Wednesday.

Today’s overflight of Rena shows a visible metallic of sheen of oil about 4.5 km long from the vessel, but there is no sign of weathered oil off Ōmanu.

A SCAT (Shoreline Clean-up Assessment Team) will be working on Maketū Spit today.

A total of 967 tonnes of solid waste has been collected so far, with 3.86 tonnes collected on Friday and Saturday.

Two containers are being processed today and surveying will be done on Pāpāmoa to see if anything has come ashore in the past week.

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Source: Maritime NZ, December 12, 2011