Twisted, But Still Together
The container ship Rena continues to be firmly stuck on the astrolabe reef off Tauranga, New Zealand. The bow section has not moved, but the stern section has begun to shift to further to port. The vessel is now twisted with the large cracks along both sides of the hull. This leaves the vessel structurally unsound and unable to be pulled off the reef. If the heavy oil can be removed, tugs may attempt to tow the stern section away from the reef to deeper water where it would be allowed to sink.
The salvage crew were unable to pump oil off the Rena due to the heavy swells. There had been concerns that the vessel would break up in the rough weather, but conditions improved allowing the three man crew to return to the vessel. Their focus is now to continue pumping out the port tank which holds around 700 tons of heavy oil.
