Search found more than 50 objects that were most likely to be containers
An underwater buggy is being used to see if more than 50 large objects spotted at the bottom of the ocean are containers washed overboard from wrecked container ship Rena.
This week a comprehensive sonar sweep of about 800 sq km around Rena, stuck on Astrolabe Reef off Mount Maunganui, found more than 50 objects that were most likely to be containers.
However, they could also be large rocks, a spokeswoman for environmental clean-up company Braemar Howells told NZ Newswire.
These have been spotted in the area surrounding the wreck, Port of Tauranga shipping lanes, and off Matakana and Motiti Islands.
A Remote Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV) will be lowered onto the sea floor from a ship next week.
The ROV will record images using an attached video camera and can also tag transmission devices to any identified containers.
All objects detected during the sonar scan are at a depth of 30-80 metres.
Identified containers will be recovered at a later date.
The Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef in October last year, spilling tonnes of oil, containers and debris into the ocean.
Some debris has washed ashore as far as away Great Barrier Island, about 150km north of Astrolabe Reef.
The stern section sank in April after the ship split in two during fierce storms.
At the last count 769 containers had been salvaged from Rena while 559 remained on the boat or on the seabed.
Rena’s skipper and navigation officer are due back in court later this month after admitting charges relating to the grounding.
Source: NZ Newswire
