Rena salvors hope for sunnier days

SAFE INSHORE: Swells have forced the Rena's crane and deck salvage barges back to the safety of the Port of Tauranga.PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Rena's salvage crew members have pinned their hopes on the last month of summer providing enough calm weather to recover the wreck's 700-tonne accommodation block.

Salvage master Andy Butts said the crew was now looking to February's traditionally settled weather for the four to five days needed to cut and lift each of the two sections of the block to the surface.

"We are not holding out much hope for the rest of January. Hopefully, come February, the weather will be good," he said.

They have waited a month for the weather to clear long enough to allow special cutting chains to tear the block apart and for lifting chains to hoist each section on to the deck barge.

In the meantime, Resolve Salvage's 20 divers have been busy on the lower section of the accommodation block, getting it ready for the day when the top section is removed. They were also making sure that swells had not dislodged or damaged the cutting and lifting gear already in place for when the weather cleared.

Mr Butts said it had been frustrating waiting for the right weather window, but everyone was confident about February.

Hugo Shanahan, spokesman for the owner and insurer, said it was a classic case of how much a role mother nature was taking in the salvage operation.

Although the divers had been doing other tasks, the priority was the accommodation block, with everything ready to remove the top half. Once the whole block was off and barged back to shore, there would be a site survey to decide the scope of work for the next few months.

Mr Shanahan said it was more than likely this would include cutting and removing a 500-tonne port side piece of the stern. It would allow the recovery of the last container of beads that had been a highly visible reminder of the Rena grounding.

"But we can't do that until the accommodation block is dealt with."

The beads had been in cargo Hold 4 of the Rena but had mostly been cleared out with a view to getting to the beads.

Mr Shanahan said the beads were the one piece of cargo left with the potential for future releases. It was an aesthetic issue because studies had shown the beads were not harmful if consumed by wildlife.

There were more than 200 days last year when salvors were unable to work on the wreck because of weather and oceanic conditions.