Sea conditions around the stricken cargo ship Rena on Astrolabe Reef have eased today with salvors expected to re-board the ship this morning.

Salvage teams were removed from the ship overnight after spending yesterday inspecting the safety of the vessel following a period of high seas and rough weather on Monday and Tuesday.

The Rena in rough seas, surrounded by fog on Wednesday, October 2. Photo: Maritime New Zealand.

Conditions around the reef located 25 kilometres from Tauranga have improved, with sea swells of between 15 to 20 knots and up to two metre swells.

Maritime New Zealand says an observation flight has confirmed there is no change in the ship's condition overnight.

The forecast today is for moderate to strong winds, with some further bad weather due to come through on Friday.

MNZ salvage unit manager Bruce Anderson says the salvage team will continue to take advantage of the relatively calm weather.

Salvors were able to board Rena at mid-morning on Wednesday after being evacuated from the ship on Monday due to rough weather.

'They will first make sure the vessel is safe to work on and then they'll be working on re-establishing all their on-board systems for fuel removal.

'One team is focusing on re-establishing the dive station, so a team can recommence work on accessing the starboard tank.

'A second team is pumping the residual lubricants and oils in the engine room to a centralised tank – this will make it easier to pump those oils on to the Awanuia once that vessel is back on site.”

Bruce says Awanuia will return to Rena when weather conditions allow.

National on scene commander Mick Courtnell says the heightened alert on Tuesday night was a good test of the oil spill response team's ability to rapidly escalate in order to meet increased risk.

'We were ready to respond across the board to another significant release of oil from the ship.”

'We have a good plan to go back to peak operating level when needed and this was a good test for us. We have the people, the plans and the equipment in place ready to respond as needed.”

Nick says shoreline assessment teams will be out on Mount Maunganui beach today following reports of oil washing ashore there on Wednesday.

Nick says it is likely oil previously buried or submerged was 'remobilised” by the storm overnight.

'As always, our advice to people on the beaches and in the water is to avoid the oil and to report it. We really appreciate the information we are receiving from the public about oil sightings.

'There is residual oil in the water and on the beaches – if people have concerns about how this might affect their health, they should consult the public health website for further information.”

There are two beach clean up operations today. One starting from Karewa Parade, Papamoa East at 9am. People are asked to meet in the car park next door to number 105 Karewa Parade.

This operation will involve working towards Taylor Reserve, 2.2kms away. A shuttle will be provided to take people back to their vehicles at 12.45pm.

The other clean up is in Maketu. People are asked to meet at Whakaue Marae, Maketu Road for a 9am start. This team will be working at Maketu Spit or along the rocky shoreline on the way out to Okurei Point.