Divers to check condition of sunken boat

Divers will inspect a sunken fishing boat that went aground on a reef in the Far North before it was washed off by big seas.

The 100-tonne Seawyf is lying broken up in shallow water off the Fairway Reef in Doubtless Bay.

The Northland Regional Council had been discussing what to do with the vessel before it was washed off the reef and into the bay.

It grounded on March 3 and sat firmly on the rocks with a badly damaged hull until it was washed off the reef on April 22.

The ship's owner, Te Rarawa Fisheries, and its insurers were disputing who should pay the salvage cost when the Seawyf disappeared into the bay.

Northland Regional Council harbourmaster Captain Ian Niblock said a surface assessment had been done of the wreck.

"But we really need to have a better look. I understand it is in two main pieces with some smaller bits.

"We will go and have a look and then we will look at any potential environmental impact."

He said a date had yet to be set for divers to inspect the Seawyf.

Diesel fuel was removed within a day or two of the grounding.

Captain Niblock said that until divers had inspected it, it was not possible to say if the wreck would be lifted off the seabed or left to deteriorate.

- NZPA