Rena stern sinks beneath waves

A view of the broken Rena with the stern section missing. Photo / MNZ

Six months after it ran aground, the back section of the Rena has broken off and has sunk in high seas, but the bow remains on the reef.

Maritime New Zealand confirmed the sinking after flying over the vessel late this afternoon.

Spokesman Ross Henderson said rough seas pounding the Rena had weakened the structure and oil had been seen surrounding the wreck and stretching out for about a kilometre to the north-west.

A wave of more than 12 metres had been recorded at the reef overnight, with winds reaching 50 kilometres an hour.

Swells of eight to nine metres were seen today.

Maritime New Zealand told the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel communities the sinking of the aft would result in more debris and oil coming ashore.

"It is important to note that the amount of oil released from the wreck is only a tiny percentage of the oil released in the big spill in October,'' said Henderson.

Maritime New Zealand's oil spill response team and specialist container recovery teams and vessels from environmental clean-up specialist Braemar Howells remained on alert to respond to any reports of further oil or debris coming ashore.

The National Oiled Wildlife Response team, based at Massey University, and the Department of Conservation had been alerted - there had been no reports of wildlife affected.

Maritime New Zealand and the salvors, Svitzer said they continued to monitor the condition of the wreck and would attempt to undertake a closer inspection of the wreck when conditions allowed.

While weather conditions at Astrolabe Reef are forecast to gradually ease, winds will continue to be strong and the sea is expected to remain rough for several days.