Mark Tucker will never know how much money he lost during the darkest days of the Rena disaster.

A decision has been made by the owner and insurer of the Rena to remove the wreck’s submerged accommodation section. The four storey block contained the crew quarters, galley, administration offices and living areas, as well as the bridge and navigational equipment. Courtesy: Rena Project

The huge accommodation block of the wrecked container ship Rena is to be removed, in a major move revealed by the ship's owners and insurers today.

The clean-up of thousands of tiny plastic beads on Bay of Plenty beaches is expected to continue for up to a week.

Salvors working on the remains of the MV Rena are within days of whittling away all that's visible of the wrecked cargo ship.

Heavy fuel oil on board Rena is expected to leach out over time, but the ship's owners and insurers say leaving the wreck behind is still the preferred option.

Tauranga's coastline is the region's pride but some people are treating it like a rubbish dump.

A ship course plotted by a cadet almost led to a repeat of the Rena disaster before a harbour pilot spotted the mistake and had the vessel steered away from rocks.

The future of Rena will be left in the hands of the Environment Court if the Western Bay of Plenty community can't make up its mind.

Any decision to leave the remaining structure of the Rena on Astrolabe Reef requires a full resource consent process, Bay of Plenty Regional Council's chief executive Mary-Anne Macleod says.

The Rena's owner and insurers are not disclosing the full details of assessments on potential environmental impact associated with leaving the wreck on the reef, a lawyer representing iwi says.

The owners and insurers of the MV Rena want to leave part of the cargo ship on the Astrolabe Reef - but Tauranga's Mayor would rather have the whole wreck gone.

It's just over 500 days since the grounding of the MV Rena caused our worst maritime environmental disaster. Jamie Morton and Alan Gibson visit what's left of the ship.

The owner and insurers of the MV Rena are to propose leaving part of the wrecked cargo ship on the Astrolabe Reef, as the clean-up bill passes $275 million.

A proposed levy increase on the maritime industry to pay for cleaning up possible oil spills has been labelled "madness" by an MP.

The ongoing Rena headache has only become worse with the latest task - gathering up about 1000 tonnes of debris strewn across the sea floor.

Divers assess the stern section and cargo hold of the sunken Rena.

The following video was captured by one of the owners and insurers technical team, as a part of the assessments to determine options for dealing with the wreck. The footage shows a clear perspective of the stern section.

Cargo around the wreck of the stricken cargo ship has broken up and contaminated the water around the Astrolabe Reef off the Tauranga coast, new water tests show.

Editorial: Thirteen months after the fully laden container ship Rena hit the Astrolable Reef off Tauranga, the fate of the wreckage is up for debate.

The Rena has more mess in store for the Bay of Plenty, with locals being warned the wrecked container ship could release more oil, chemicals and container debris.