Asia/Pacific News
Aft Half of Container Ship Sinks
Days of rough seas and bad weather have pummeled the Liberian flagged MV Rena inevitably breaking the stern section and sending it under the waves this week.
The Rena ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef near the port of Tauranga, New Zealand six months ago.
Bad weather had prevented salvors from removing all of the container cargo, Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) has warned marine traffic to be aware of containers and other floating debris from the wreck.
The stranded vessel leaked about 350 metric tonnes (mt) of fuel-oil when it initially ran aground in early October 2011.
MNZ says that it is likely to leak more fuel but this is expected to be "a tiny percentage" of what was released in October.
Speaking in February, the New Zealand environment minister, Nick Smith, said that since the original spill, removal of fuel-oil had greatly reduced any potential damage a subsequent leak might cause.
"The risk to the environment is a fragment of what it was, with at the most tens of tonnes of oil rather than hundreds of tonnes that potentially could be spilled," said Smith.
The owners of the Rena, Daina Shipping, have been charged with discharging harmful substances from the vessel.
The charge carries a maximum fine of NZ$600,000 (US$500,000) with a further NZ$10,000 for each subsequent day of offence.
Diana Shipping is incorporated in Liberia and is a subsidiary of the Greek shipping company Costamare Inc. Costamare has a fleet of 56 containerships, with a total capacity of approximately 324,000 TEU and reported 2011 profits of US$88m with revenues of $382m.
In February the Rena's captain and navigation officer pleaded guilty to operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk, discharge of harmful substances, and four charges of altering the ship's documents.
Both men are Philippine nationals and will face up to seven years in jail.
