Salvors report steel cutting on board the 'Rena' continued with very good progress made during the current stable weather window.
Salvage (Resolve Marine)
• 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.
Braemar/Unimar Update
• On behalf of the owners and insurers, Braemar recovery teams have been in full swing, with land, sea and air operations underway this week.
• A fast response vessel has been working the Coromandel coast this week, with divers being used to swim ashore and remove debris from inaccessible bays and rocky coves between Hahei and Whangamata.
• A major aerial survey was carried out on Thursday of a huge area of Bay of Plenty coast. A fixed wing aircraft with a ‘GPS tagging’ camera flew over an area from East Island on the East Cape, up along the Western Bay and Coromandel coasts as far as Great Barrier Island.
• Braemar Operations Manager Operations Simon Valentine was on board for the five hour flight which also took in offshore island such as Mayor and Motiti. “We were able to enter almost every bay and cove in perfect debris-spotting conditions, ” he says. “We now have to analyse the hi-res photos taken to complete a report, but what we saw was pleasing – no significant debris.”