It is true that it’s a little hard to ignore the sight of the container vessel grounded on the Astrolabe, marring the view of one of New Zealand’s most pristine marine environments.
So it stands to reason that the port would need to use their AGM to give a public update on progress of the clean up and salvage operations, led by Svitzer Salvage BV.
“It will always be very difficult to demonstrate to the general public that adequate procedures are in place to handle low likelihood, high consequence risks such as this grounding”, said Mark Cairns, chief executive, Port of Tauranga – reiterating why continual updates are important.
Since the grounding, the Port of Tauranga has been working with Maritime New Zealand to coordinate the emergency response – seconding staff, work boats, tugs, office and cargo shed space and exclusive use of the Number 5 berth and its adjacent quay for materials. Shed 22 has also been set aside to bring ashore salvaged containers.
Although the Rena grounding has been called New Zealand’s worst marine spill, the port says the risk profile is improving day by day, so far, 808 tonnes have been safely pumped from the stricken vessel. The clean-up operation continues.
