Why did the Rena sink?

Asked by: Erica Moore

She was renamed Andaman Sea in 2007 and had sailed under her current name and owner since 2010. On , due to navigation errors near the Astrolabe Reef, the Rena ran agroundran agroundShip grounding or ship stranding is the impact of a ship on seabed or waterway side. It may be intentional, as in beaching to land crew or cargo, and careening, for maintenance or repair, or unintentional, as in a marine accident. In accidental cases, it is commonly referred to as “running aground”.

What happened to MV Rena?

On , Rena separated into two pieces and an estimated 200–300 of the approximately 830 remaining containers were lost overboard. The condition of the vessel had been gradually deteriorating during the time it was grounded on the reef, with more accelerated deterioration during stormy weather.

What happened to the Rena captain?

SENTENCED: The Rena’s navigating officer, Leonil Relon (left) and captain Mauro Balomaga in the dock at the Tauranga District Court. The men responsible for causing New Zealand’s worst maritime environmental disaster by grounding the Rena off Tauranga’s coast have been sentenced to seven months in jail.

What happened when the ship Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef in October 2011?

The Liberian-flagged MV Rena hit a reef off the North Island on . Hundreds of tonnes of fuel oil leaked out, causing widespread pollution. The oil polluted beaches and killed wildlife including thousands of sea birds as it leaked from the ship aground on the Astrolabe Reef.

Is the MV Rena still there?

The desolate wreck of the MV Rena, which ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef in October 2011, has been reclaimed by nature and become a thriving kelp forest.

How did they clean up the Rena oil spill?

Sandy beaches were also manually sieved to capture any smaller globs of oil. The work cost New Zealand thousands of labour hours and millions of dollars. A volunteer with some of the bags of black oily goo collected in the clean-up of beaches in the Bay of Plenty after the Rena oil spill.

Where is the Rena now?

Since then, the clean-up operation has seen lots of debris removed from the wreck – but large parts of the Rena still remain on the ocean floor. The Rena wreck is now managed by the Astrolabe Community Trust, which took over responsibility for the future of the wreck after the initial clean up.

How long did it take to clean up the Rena oil spill?

At Waihi, 177 tonnes of debris was removed from the popular beach in just four days. Braemar Howells’ recovery team swung into action with heavy machinery and labour teams when 17 containers washed ashore.