KEY POINTS:
Salvagers have today completed the first stage of righting a bulk ironsand carrier anchored in Nelson's Tasman Bay.
Maritime New Zealand said the efforts to ballast the Taharoa Express by filling tanks in the ship with seawater pumped up the ship's sides had proved successful today.
MNZ spokeswoman Christl McMillan said the ship was still listing but the operation was going well and was expected to continue all day.
She said the 275m-long vessel and its 25 crew would not depart until the weather improved and MNZ was satisfied the ship was safe.
The sea was rough this morning, with westerly winds gusting up to 40 knots, but conditions were expected to ease tonight.
The Taharoa Express, which provides a regular cargo service between China or Japan from Port Taharoa in the Waikato, got into trouble about 2.30am on Friday after its load of iron sand slurry moved while in rough seas off the Taranaki coast.
While the weather-related incident was not being treated as an accident, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) would have a role investigating how the situation unfolded.
The 140,000 tonne bulk carrier was at the centre of a maritime incident in 2004 when it lost power and drifted towards a beach on the west coast south of Auckland.
- NZPA
