Braemar Howells is making progress in its debris recovery operation in the Bay of Plenty with it locating 17 containers and completing a clean-up task in Mataora Bay this week.

The company is tasked with processing the debris in the sea from the Rena container shipwreck at the Astrolabe Reef about 25km offshore from Mount Maunganui.

Containers found at Mataora Bay.

Braemar has recovered 71 containers from the sea and beaches with heavy use of a helicopter required to complete this week's operation at Mataora Bay.

Maritime New Zealand is reporting it undertook 74 lifts of debris; both container wreckage and its timber cargo, to clear the bay of the pollution.

The container was cut into pieces to be removed.

The 17 newly located containers are yet to be salvaged.

At the Rena wreck, Svitzer salvors have recovered 554 containers and dispatched them to Braemar to process onshore.

There are now 625 containers accounted for onshore.

There were 1368 containers onboard the Rena when it ran aground on October 5.

Svitzer operations are based on the Smit Borneo crane barge, which is positioned about 250m off the port side of the vessel.

The salvors are intending to move it to the starboard side of the Rena when sea conditions allow.

Maritime New Zealand expects this task will take a couple of days to complete.

Some oil pumping operations have been undertaken onboard the wreck this week with salvors extracting about 10.3 tonnes of fuel from it.

MNZ reports the amount of residual oil on the wreck is in the tens of tonnes.

MNZ national on scene commander Rob Service says the oil removal from the vessel shows the determination of salvors to do a complete job.

'That's another 10 cubic metres of oil that will not go into the water, so it's a really pleasing result,” says Rob.

He also says a media report this week saying oil had reached the Hawke's Bay was incorrect.