New Zealand wreck divers face serious problems

The wreck of the container ship Rena, which crashed off the coast of New Zealand, is being examined by divers whose work is being made even more dangerous by the debris and torn steel surrounding the vessel.

The on scene coordinator for Maritime New Zealand is Rob Service, who has said that divers are finding it very challenging to enter the vessel due to dangerous conditions. They are not being given permission by MNZ to enter the vessel until it has been deemed completely safe for them to do so.

The ship is located near the Bay of Plenty and currently 52 containers have been recovered from the water. A Further 18 have been located but have not yet been recovered. This week, recovery operations are going to be focused on Motiti Island as well as White Island, both of which have significant debris on them.

Oil cleanup is also taking place at Leisure Island and Mount Maunganui where there are thirty workers working to clear up the oil. Stuart Crosby is the mayor of Tauranga and he has recently commented, “I don’t think we should be placing blame on this container ship but we should be looking at how to improve maritime safety in the country.”