Grounded Container Vessel Rena – MAF playing a support role

Early in the morning of 5 October, Rena, a 21-year-old 236m Liberian-flagged cargo vessel en route from Napier to Tauranga, struck Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga and grounded. Its bow section is wedged on the reef, its stern section is afloat.

Eighty-eight containers were lost over board as Rena developed a list of about 20 degrees. Progressive bending of its stern section caused significant cracks in the hull.

Some of the containers and their dispersed contents have washed up, others have been located at sea for later recovery and more than 50 are unaccounted for.

There was around 1700 tonnes of fuel oil on Rena when it grounded on the Astrolabe Reef. Around 350 tonnes has spilled from the ship, and as at 3pm on 25 October a confirmed total of 645 tonnes had been transferred to the tanker Awanuia.

It is unknown how long the salvage and clean-up operation will take, but it is likely to be months. The focus is on removing oil from Rena and recovering spilled oil from wherever it is found.

The salvage company Svitzer was appointed on 6 October and its salvors have been working to remove the estimated 1,350 tonnes of oil in various tanks on Rena, while oil spill response personnel and volunteers have each day worked to clean oiled beaches.

Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) is the lead agency for Operation Rena.

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Page last updated: 3 November 2011