Some containers break loose and spill their contents. The question of whether this substance was hazardous remains
The seconded mussel harvesters Phoenix
and Northern Quest load oil pollution boom defence and skimming gear
While it's not happy, this little blue penguin will survive, unlike thousands of other birds and marine wildlife
which the union said could explain why she ran aground. In August, Australia detained the MV Rena because of cracked and rusted parts. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority detained her for a day in Fremantle, Western Australia, after "serious deficiencies" were found. Their report found she had "not been maintained between surveys", the "hatchway cover securing arrangements are defective" and cargo was not stowed and secured as stipulated in the cargo-securing manual. Earlier reports the Rena was carrying dangerous cargo have been confirmed as the hazardous substance Ferrosilicon, used by the military to quickly produce hydrogen. The chemical reaction uses sodium hydroxide, ferrosilicon and water. The materials are stable, are not combustible and do not generate large amounts of hydrogen until mixed. Ferrosilicon will slowly release hydrogen when in contact with water. Fortunately, the goods were identified early and Maritime NZ knows where the containers are. "Any salvage plan will take them into account," the authority says. With some 1386 containers and 47,000 tonnes dwt, the ship is continuing to settle as the double bottoms collapse under the extreme weigh with bulkheads starting to give way. At the time of writing even the engineroom was taking on water as she continued to wrack. A large crack has developed on the port side near the number three hold about one third of the way down the ship about the end of where the front section is being held fast on the reef. The Rena draws 9.6m with the top of the reef awash at datum, exposing a rock about the size of a large container 50m off the starboard bow. The surrounding area where she is aground less than 10m at datum is about the size of two football fields. This gives some idea of the size of the target. A distance of 500m either way and she might have missed, and none of us would have known about the poor navigational practices on some of the foreign ships working our coast.
The greatest danger facing us will be when she breaks up or if she continues to roll over and then break up. Because of where she is sitting, the stern half is hanging over into about 56m of water. The risk is with the hull flexing, her weakest point being above the edge of the reef.
Diagram showing the reef and the ship's position 34 Professional Skipper November/December 2011
When she parts, hopefully the stern half, which now has most of the oil and diesel tanks, will remain intact and upright. This being the case, and if the salvors can keep her machinery going to operate onboard pumps etc, the tugs standing by can grab her and either tow her by the stern to shallow water or preferably into the port of Tauranga where she can be securely berthed alongside. Once alongside, oil booms can be placed around her and dealing with the salvage will be much easier. Meanwhile, the front section still on the reef will still need to be dealt with. The nearest equipment and barges to either remove the cargo or
PHOTO: BLAIR HARKNESS
PHOTO: MARIT ME
PHOTO: M ITARITIME NEW E LA ND M EWN WNE ZEALAN
AND
PHOTO: WESTERN WORKBOATS
