Maritime NZ: Cleanup of Rena wreck complete

Maritime New Zealand has withdrawn two statutory notices relating to the wreck of the MSC-operated containership MV Rena, which ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga Oct. 5, 2011.    Nearly four and a half years after the accident, government officials in New Zealand have declared cleanup operations for the wreck of the MV Rena complete, according to a statement from the country’s marine safety, security and environmental protection agency.
   Maritime New Zealand has withdrawn two statutory notices relating to the wreck of the MSC-operated containership, one of which declared the wreck a hazard to navigation under section 100A of the Maritime Transport Act and the other declared it a hazardous ship under section 248.
   The Rena ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga Oct. 5, 2011 and has been stuck there ever since. The vessel spilled large amounts of fuel oil into the waters, lost several containers overboard and eventually split in two, causing the stern section to sink.
   In April 2012, Maritime NZ charged the captain and second officer of the containership with breaching the basic principles of safe navigation, and the two men were sentenced in May to up to seven months in prison after pleading guilty to all charges.
   The two statutory notices required the owners of the vessel to address the navigational hazard and discharge of harmful substances such as fuel oil, as well as inform Maritime NZ of progress being made.
   “Significant effort has gone into salvage and safe removal of harmful substances,” Maritime NZ Director Keith Manch said in a statement. “While some oil remains trapped in the wreckage of the vessel, most of the harmful substances contained within the ship have been discharged into the sea and have either been removed or have been, and will continue to be, monitored under the plan provided for under the resource consent.”
   Manch noted that more than 22,000 metric tons of debris have been removed from the seabed.
   “The information and evidence available to me indicates that all reasonable efforts have been made to remove entanglement hazards and wreckage, where possible,” he added. “I have concluded that the wreck and remaining debris on the sea floor no longer constitute a hazard to navigation.”