What
Happened - The Rena
struck Astrolabe Reef, a well documented reef around
2.20am on May 5, 2011 whilst doing over
17 knots. The ship was heading north
after rounding East Cape for the
port of Tauranga. Weather was good but
the vessel was some distance off course and outside the recognised coastal shipping lanes. Over half of the
ship became lodged on the reef as
illustrated below. The crew
have been evacuated with no injuries and
most have now left the country. A
salvage company was appointed by the
ship's Greek owners. The day of the
grounding was believed to be the
captain's 44th birthday. It is also
believed the ship took a short cut in an
attempt to make up time and reach the
port on time. He and the
Second Officer who was in command at the
time have been arrested and
bailed under the New Zealand Maritime
Act. The ship was owned and crewed by Costamare Inc
but chartered to MSC Group. Eventually an
official enquiry will determine the true
reason for the grounding. This has been
a wake up call to New Zealand's
readiness to cope with such an event.
Containers -Over 88 of the 1,800
shipping containers have fallen off the
ship with some beached on Motiti island and
others reaching the coast at Mt
Maunganui. Salvage crews have been
attaching tracking devices to containers
on still board deemed as having
dangerous cargo. One lost container containing Alkylsuphonic liquid (UN 2586) is
unaccounted for and causing concern.
A number of the containers have made
it to shore, many completely destroyed
along with their contents. Of the 88
containers that went overboard, 30
remain unaccounted for. Others have
been located close to the entrance
channel to Tauranga harbour and either towed to
the port or secured by buoys. A Navy minesweeper
used
towed Sonar equipment to locate sunken
containers and protect the busy shipping
channel into the port but many are still
missing.
Oil
Slicks - Large oil slicks washed
ashore and over 1,000 military personnel
and volunteers have collected most of the predominately No6 bunker oil also
known as Bunker C. The pollution is expected to
affect much of the Bay of Plenty from Waihi to Whakatane with the popular
holiday resorts of Mt Maunganui,
Pukehina, Papamoa and Matata most affected.
Oil and container debris has also
entered Tauranga harbour. Some oil was
removed soon after the grounding but bad
weather with 3-5 metre swells have been
interrupting fuel recovery.
Reduced swell height has permitted
salvage experts to return to the ship.
It is estimated 365 tonnes of oil has
spilled. The remaining oil is stored in
rear compartments of the ship. 95 tonnes of solid waste and 6 tonnes
of liquid waste has been collected from
beaches so far. Oil has stopped
coming ashore and the main beach areas have
been cleaned but further slicks are
expected. Offshore Islands and rocky
coastline areas will take much longer.
Over 6,700 volunteers have either
registered for or already been active
with the clean up.
Wildlife
- over 1,370 birds have been killed by
the oil. A recovery centre has been
established housing over 380 live birds and
penguins. Local volunteers can register
to help with the cleanup on 0800
333771
Liability - Under the Maritime
Transport Act the ship's owner is liable
for up to $12.1 million towards the
clean up in addition to the salvage
costs but this amount would have doubled
to $24 million if the Government had
signed up to the International
Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker
Oil Pollution Damage. The Mediterranean
Shipping Company (MSC) who had leased
the ship and who's cargo was being
shipped in New Zealand waters had
initially failed to communicate and
denied any liability. They have
subsequently pledged to make a
contribution of $NZ 1 million towards
the cleanup on Oct 18. The ship is owned and was
crewed by Costamare Inc, a Greek
shipping company.
