Full removal of the wreck might be a costly exercise but it is the only right thing to do, writes Dylan Thorne. Photo / Alan Gibson
It's been two years since the 236-metre container vessel MV Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef.
The immediate aftermath saw businesses fearing for their survival and beachgoers lamenting the loss of their pristine surf and sand as oil washed up along the coast. The catastrophic nature of the event was
captured in images of black oil layered across Papamoa Beach and dead seabirds cloaked in black gung.
The memory of the fallout from that early morning grounding may be fading, if ever so slightly.
This week the disaster was brought into sharp focus with the release of two reports. One highlighted the failings in Maritime New Zealand's initial response. The other explored the impact on the environment. It concluded it had minimal lasting effect except for heightened levels of contaminants contained to Astrolabe Reef and the north-east area of Motiti Island.
While the findings of the environmental report are indeed good news, we should not assume that this disaster is over. Nor should it add any weight to the argument the wreck should be left on the reef.
