Rena's owners are congratulating the salvor company Svitzer and Maritime New Zealand on the removal of the remaining heavy fuel oil from the container ship on Astrolabe Reef.

See video here of the original apology made by Rena owner, Costamare director Diamantis Manos, on October 13.

'Following the grounding and spill from our vessel, the Rena on October 5, we apologised to the people of New Zealand and particularly to those living around the Bay of Plenty and surrounding areas and we do so again with all sincerity,” says the company in a statement from Athens overnight.

'The efforts of our appointed salvors, with the excellent support of Maritime New Zealand, have removed just about all of the oil onboard and we thank and congratulate them for their efforts. We also thank the thousands of volunteers who have helped clean the beaches.”

Costamare says its insurers, The Swedish Club, is paying for the costs of removing the oil from the vessel, and the insurers will continue to pay for the costs of salvaging the cargo and the ship.

Costamare states it will continue to assist the authorities with their investigation into the cause of the grounding.