Rena update (update 185)

1 February 2012 - 11.00AM

The Svitzer salvage team yesterday removed four packets of wood via helicopter.

Salvage

• Two 40-foot containers were also removed from the wreck – they were cut into pieces first. One 20-foot container was also removed.
• Salvors also undertook manual discharge of containers containing leather skins.
• The focus for salvors today is ongoing container and debris removal from the forward section of Rena. Engineers are on board assessing options for different lifting systems.
• The forecast for Astrolabe Reef today is for westerly winds starting to increase to around 20 knots gradually through the day, with the sea state also increasing. The conditions may slow salvage operations later today.
• The forecast tomorrow is for fine weather.

Containers

• Braemer Howells clean-up operations have so far this week focused primarily on Matakana Island and just north of Waihi Beach.
• Timber was stacked and towed to a waiting barge at Orokawa Bay yesterday. The container still on the beach at this bay will be cut up and removed in the near future.
• Helicopter and barge operations continue at Matakana Island with timber, bits of container and other debris being removed.
• A total of 463 containers have been recovered from Rena by salvors and discharged at the port by Braemar Howells. A further 65 have been recovered from the beaches and the water.

Oil spill response

• Yesterday, shoreline clean-up assessment teams surveyed beaches from Mount Maunganui to Papamoa East. No significant oiling was identified during these surveys.
• Today, the teams will be assessing the beaches from Papamoa East through to the Kaituna Cut. All of the results from these surveys are fed into the planning process and guide the clean-up teams.
• Oil spill response clean-up teams are currently focusing on Matakana Island, Mount Maunganui and Leisure Island. Around 50 people are working in the field today. A further 15 will be working on Matakana Island tomorrow.
• The incident command centre (ICC) has moved from the old Foodtown on the corner of Cameron Road and Fourteenth Ave to a smaller space in Greerton. This is part of the “right sizing” of the operation. Around 25 people are currently managing the clean-up operation and overseeing the salvage operation from the ICC. The new ICC has office space in the front and a large warehouse in the back – this provides the response team with the ability to scale up if required.
• Oiled wildlife response teams are on Motiti Island today, checking on wildlife there.