Rena Salvage News

Maritime New Zealand has approved a pause in work on salvaging the Rena while the wrecked cargo ship’s owners wait for their resource consent application to be heard. The ship's owner Daina Shipping has been seeking permission to leave sections of the wreck and some debris on Astrolabe reef, where the container ship grounded in 2011. Maritime New Zealand said the pause would take effect only once the wreck reached the state set out in the consent application, which was expected to be heard later this year. "Maritime NZ accepts that it is not reasonable to require further salvage work to be carried out, beyond what is required to reach the wreck state set out in the application, until resolution of that process," said director Keith Manch.

Following six weeks of intensive operations RESOLVE Salvage & Fire announce removal of 600 tons of steel from the bow section of the Rena wreck off Tauranga, New Zealand. RESOLVE has been removing the wreck piece by piece using helicopters and a transport barge at a safe distance from the reef. Due to the precarious position of the wreck’s bow on the Astrolabe Reef, and the nationwide concern in New Zealand over the potential for additional damage to the reef during salvage operations, RESOLVE’s methodology using helicopters was chosen from a number of other proposals.

Salvors report steel cutting on board the 'Rena' continued with very good progress made during the current stable weather window. •    An additional 70 tonnes has been removed from the forward section using the Bell 214 helicopter. •    This brings the total steel weight removed to approximately 200 tonnes. •    The focus for the coming week – weather permitting – will be the continued cutting of the forecastle deck and deck equipment, as well as replenishing cutting materials and equipment by helicopter. •    On behalf of the owners and insurers, Braemar recovery teams have been in full swing, with land, sea and air operations underway this week.

The first steel fore sections cut & removed from 'Rena', with the Bell 214 heavy-lift helicopter completing 14 separate lifts to the barge Kapua. •    The barge made its first landing in Tauranga with an estimated 40 tonnes of steel, which included  deck equipment and pieces of winches from the fo’c’sle. •    Work is continuing with the modifications to the helicopter landing platform, and pre-cutting of upper decks, fo’c’sle deck, and equipment. •    Helicopter-to-barge transfers will continue next week.

Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) liases with US salvors Resolve, meanwhile Braemar continues clean up work. With sea conditions remaining too rough for marine operations, Braemar Howells clean up teams have been hard at work tackling the fresh debris swept ashore on the Coromandel Peninsula in particular. Braemar Operations Manager Neil Lloyd says it has been the most prolonged  weather event encountered since the project began. The stormy conditions have had a “significant impact” on the Coromandel and Matakana Island. The rough seas have forced a halt to work on pre-rigging submerged containers lying on the seabed around the Rena wreck site.

Braemar Howells is using increasingly sophisticated equipment in its Rena clean-up operations. The observation class Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV), used to-date in locating submerged container wreckage, has been replaced by a working class version. While the observation class equipment provided the “eyes” to confirm sightings, the replacement ROV features a manipulating arm that can hook up and move scrap wreckage. This will enable container wreckage to be collected without the use of divers.

National On Scene Commander Rob Service said it was impossible to calculate exactly how much oil leaked during the recent heavy weather event, however, it was only a very small amount. While some of this oil appears to have reached the shoreline, it is unlikely to have a significant impact. The oil spill response team will closely monitor the situation over the weekend and remains ready to mount whatever response is necessary. A full team of 16 Svitzer salvors are on board Rena, examining the damage resulting from the recent heavy weather event.

The Smit Borneo has returned to the Rena wreck site and currently has 6 anchors secured in position. Svitzer advise the tugs, Singapore, Go Canopus and Koraki are assisting. Two connections to the Rena are still to be made, and will hopefully be completed soon, subject to sea/swell conditions at the site. The forecast is for swells to remain at 1.1m, with a total expected wave height of 2.5m, with winds from the north, turning to SE on Wednesday. Weekend clean-up operations by the Braemar Howells team included dragging debris up above the high tide mark at the base of Mauao (Mt Maunganui).

A WASSP Multibeam Sonar is being used by hydrographic surveyors at the grounding of the 236m-cargo vessel MV Rena on the Astrolabe Reef off the coast of New Zealand, to locate lost containers. Marine electronics manufacturer WASSP Ltd, a world leader in multibeam sonar technology has provided one of their WASSP sonar systems for the salvage effort. Within 48 hours of the WASSP arriving in Tauranga, it had been used to identify 12 targets, 7 of which were submerged containers…

THE Liberian Registry has confirmed that it is continuing its investigation and is working co-operatively with the maritime authorities and emergency response teams in New Zealand following the grounding of the containership Rena off the country’s coastline on October 5. The ship has been entered with the Liberian Registry since November 2010 when it was acquired by the current owners, who have a long-standing and reliable history with the Liberian Registry. It has been engaged in regular trading between Australia and New Zealand, and is understood to have been a regular caller at the port of Tauranga. The Liberian Registry’s specialist investigation team of marine experts is co-operating closely on site with the owners…