ton on board and might have prevented the 350 tons or more of plus heavy fuel oil from escaping when the ship finally broke in half. Sadly, by the time the offer was considered, the window of opportunity was lost. Why was the Awanuia not requisitioned immediately?
Where were the contingency plans and lessons learnt from
the Jodie F Millennium? Or were they still waiting to be developed? Clearly, statements from the second mate and master about what happened in the moments leading up to the grounding contradicted each other.
The watchkeeper says he went to the chartroom to plot the
ship's position at 0200, but the master and second mate were leaning over the chart and he didn't want to interrupt them. Documents seized by the investigators reveal that the last time the ship's position was marked on a chart was at 0120 which shows the vessel starting to divert from her plan and head towards the reef. The position was noted in the logbook, but was later altered. The second mate told investigators he showed the master the charts plotting the ship's path prior to the radar signal alert. The master said he didn't see them. The ship's position at 0200 was plotted after the grounding, and was further north than the Rena's position at the time, says TAIC's investigator in charge, Robert Thompson.
What has happened is not surprising to most mariners, possibly the only surprise is that it has taken so long.
On October 12, Maritime New Zealand charged both the master and second officer under section 65 of the Maritime Transport Act (MTA) 1994 "for operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk". Further charges were laid by Maritime New Zealand on November 2 under section 338 (1B) and (15B) of the Resource Management Act relating to the "discharge of harmful substances from ships or offshore installations".
The master entered guilty pleas to all six charges laid against
him. The second officer pleaded guilty to the MTA charge and all three Crimes Act charges but entered no plea to the RMA charge. They have remained in the country since the incident and are awaiting sentencing in the Tauranga District Court on May 25.
Meanwhile, the culture on board the Rena and the relationship
The taxi awaits departing salvors
between management and the crew will be further investigated as the commission continues to collate and verify information directly related to the grounding. It is also pursuing several lines of inquiry of a wider systemic nature within the maritime industry.
On the evening of April 4 the stern section of the wreck finally succumbed to the ravages of the latest storm to hit the reef by slipping further into deep water and sinking below the waves.
Swells as high as 12m were pounding the ship, as the stern section of the Rena, much of which was already sitting beneath the surface after she broke in half on January 8, rolled sideways further down the face of the reef and is submerged and expected to sink further.
The Bay of Plenty and Coromandel communities were advised that the sinking of the stern section would result in more debris and small amounts of oil escaping into the sea, which would then come ashore. It is important to note that because of the small amount of oil purported to be left on board, the amount of oil released from the wreck is only a tiny percentage of the oil released in the big spill in October. A light sheen of oil stretched for about a kilometre north of the wreck was seen heading towards the Coromandel coast. Spitzer Salvage spokesperson Matt Watson advised that it was too dangerous to go near the wreck during the last storm and crews monitored it by aerial inspection. With some additional 20 containers and other debris floating free causing further hazards to navigation, the annual Auckland to Tauranga coastal yacht race was cancelled. On April 5, six months after the grounding, Maritime
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