Rena catastrophe

Reports of thefts as Rena cargo washes ashore

Containers, milk powder and other debris from the Rena have washed up on Waihi Beach.

Stuff,
9 January, 2012, 17.00 NZT

Only half the number of containers previously thought to have been lost overboard when the Rena broke in two actually went into the water.

Maritime New Zealand  believes 150 shipping containers, not the 300 originally thought, toppled from the wreck when the ship broke up in rough seas on Saturday night.

Clean-up crews were today removing debris, including plastic bags of milk powder, from Waihi Beach. Twelve containers have washed ashore between Matakana Island and Waihi.

Claudine Sharp of recovery company Braemar Howells said based on photographs and other evidence it was believed only 150 containers were lost.

Of that, 45 had been identified and tagged for recovery.

The heavier weight of the 20 containers that held dangerous goods meant they remained in the water near the wreck.

Waihi Beach reopened this afternoon after being closed for the morning following reports of thefts of cargo which has washed ashore from the split-in-two Rena.

Waikato police spokesman Andrew McAlley said police, who were working in conjunction with MNZ, closed the beach at  9.15am after reports of theft from the containers.

McAlley reminded people that the property in the containers remained that of its owners and their respective insurance companies.

Waihi police Sergeant Dave Litton said they had received calls about the occupants of a vehicle taking bags of what appeared to be milk powder, before driving off.

"The expert advice we have received is for people not to approach items washed ashore for health reasons and we appeal to those people who have taken objects to return them to the beach where they can be managed by decontamination crews."

Hamilton couple Sally and Greg Jordan, who often holidayed at the beach, popped down for a quick dip about 7.30am only to find two containers had washed up.

The pair went and got rubbish bags to help in the clean up, but were advised against that until more was known about what was inside the containers.

RENA NOW 'VERY, VERY DANGEROUS'

Salvors say they have a range of options for continuing work on the Rena if one or both sections of the grounded container ship sinks, but the situation was now "very, very dangerous".

Svitzer Salvage spokesperson Matthew Watson said the work of removing containers from the remains of the Rena had become "very, very dangerous and very difficult".

If the rear section sank, salvaging containers from the ship would become a far more complicated operation, he told Radio New Zealand.

The biggest concern was for the rear section of the ship which was "wriggling" around in the swell.

If the rear section did sink, or if the front section sunk as well, it was possible salvors could possibly use diving techniques and technology.

"Or they could possibly drag the pieces away to shallower waters. There are all sorts of options and scenarios. We don't know which way it's going to go at the moment," Watson said.

Salvors would continue to make their best efforts to move containers off the Rena when the weather calmed down, but they would not take any silly risks.

Port of Tauranga said it remained open and fully operational.

CONTAINERS MOVING AROUND 'LIKE LITTLE TOYS' 

Grant Dyson, spokesman for container recovery company Braemar Howells, said the plan was to use a helicopter to lift the containers from beaches on to a barge offshore and then deal with them through the usual process.

Stuart Walker, who is on holiday at Waihi Beach, said a yellow unopened container had wedged up on the north end of the beach, and a couple of other containers could be seen bobbing around in the water.

Scattered along the section of beach were clear plastic bags of a yellowy powder, possibly milk powder.

A pack of timber, maybe 3m long by 1.5m wide and 1m high, was also on the beach and some others were visible in the water.

"The waves are moving them around like they're little toys," Walker said.

Reports were also coming in of insulation foam and debris washing ashore between Mt Maunganui and Harrisons Cut at Papamoa.

There was some suggestion the foam might be from refrigerated containers that may have previously fallen into the sea and been stirred up by recent large seas, Dyson said.

The Braemar team would be out in force today hunting down containers, Dyson said.

It had a small fleet at its disposal including fast response craft, a barge with a crane and tugs. There were three boats with sonar scanning equipment and helicopters and fixed wing aircraft on standby.

The strategy was to rope in as many floating containers as possible and hitch them to anchor points at sea.

EXTREME CAUTION URGED

Port of Tauranga has warned ships to use "extreme caution and maintain a vigilant lookout".

Anchorages off the port were likely to be affected by floating containers and debris, and it was recommended they not be used until further notice, the port said.

It had redeployed monitoring of the port channels, utilising side-scanning sonar and magnetometer sweeping.

MNZ said there had been no significant changes to the status of the Rena overnight.

Salvage and spill response experts were making observation flights this morning to find out more about the ship's condition, including container debris and any oil lost from the ship. 

Contractors would respond to any reports of debris or oil that had come ashore.

National on scene commander Alex van Wijngaarden said a response team had been mobilised to deal with any fresh oil released from the ship, and members of the oiled wildlife response team spent the night checking Mt Maunganui and Leisure Island for oiled birds.

Van Wijngaarden said the navy would help patrol the exclusion zone around Rena and ensure harbour channels remained clear.

Any oil coming ashore in the coming days was expected to be much less than the amount that washed up after the Rena first went aground, he said.

"Anyone finding oil or debris is asked to report it immediately and to stay well clear, as all debris must be treated as if it is contaminated."

Regional on scene commander Adam Munro said extensive planning had been undertaken to prepare for oil or shipping containers washing up in the area.

"We have trained staff ready to respond if required and detailed plans are in place which we have prepared with the assistance of Maritime NZ, the salvors and the container recovery company. 

Conditions are extremely changeable, but there is a possibility that debris and oil from the vessel might impact the eastern seaboard of the Coromandel Peninsula, north of Waihi.

MNZ salvage unit manager Dave Billington said reports started coming through about 8pm on Saturday about containers being lost overboard.

A flyover yesterday morning found that the ship's stern was listing at 23 degrees to starboard while the bow section remained firmly wedged on the reef.

The ship was in two pieces that were about 20-30 metres apart.