Maritime New Zealand has confirmed containers have fallen off the stricken cargo ship Rena overnight.

A spokesperson for Maritime New Zealand says exactly how many containers have fallen is not known at this stage.

70 containers are reported to have fallen off Rena.

Meanwhile, a navigational warning to vessels about the potential of containers to come off the stranded ship has been issued as the may pose a hazard to passing vessels.

The vessels list has increased to 18 degrees to Starboard.

Maritime New Zealand has contingency plans in place to for the lost containers, which they expect to wash ashore sometime this week.

A severe weather warning remains in place with four to five metre swells also predicted.

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