Rena Shipwreck Continues to Threaten New Zealand's Coast
The shipwreck of the M/V Rena still poses a threat to the coast, as the Bay of Plenty gears up for the summer tourist season, according to New Zealand’s One News.
The clean-up company is continuing to conduct air and sea searches, as debris keeps washing up and polluting the coastline.
For the last two weeks, salvors have been dismantling the wreck piece by piece, but the other massive section of the container ship is still out of sight underwater. Also below the water’s surface are 330 unrecovered containers; some leaking waste and contaminates. 8 containers have been recovered from sea in the last week.
High-definition photos were recently taken along hundreds of kilometers of the coastline. This launched a major sweep to locate the remainder of the floating debris in the area. In the past few weeks, more than 4 tons of debris has washed up along the beaches and islands the line New Zealand’s coast. The unusual debris collected includes millions of tiny plastic beads.
A representative from Braemar Howells, a company aiding in container recovery on the site, states that no one can guarantee that the remains of the wreck will suddenly stop; some will continue to make it onto the shore.
Residents and business owners on the beach have reportedly not seen any oil or major pollution since November 2011. Last summer, these same locals were several hundred dollars out-of-pocket. Many complained of great financial stresses, as well as tarnished reputations about their pristine beach following the Rena grounding.
The ship’s owner, Daina Shipping Co., was expected in court on Thursday, but delays mean that they will not appear until the actual anniversary of the unfortunate grounding in early October.
Check out some still photos from the salvage operation below:
The exclusive video can be viewed here.