High seas expected on Astrolabe Reef this week may result in more damage and or movement to the remains of the container ship Rena.

Maritime New Zealand is expecting seven metre swells from the sub-tropical low pressure system that will be passing by the East Cape in the next few days.

High seas are expected to cause more damage to the Rena wreck at Astrolabe Reef. Photo: LOC

MNZ spokesman Ross Henderson says the wreck remains in a fragile state and will continue to deteriorate the longer it remains exposed to the elements.

'The forecast bad weather may result in further damage or movement of the wreck, along with the potential loss of more containers or container debris,” says Ross.

The salvors' barge Smit Borneo and tug Singapore left the reef on Saturday and are likely to remain in port this week due to forecast bad weather from Tuesday through until Sunday.

The weather forecast for Astrolabe Reef, about 25km from Tauranga, is for rough seas of up to 8m, peaking on Tuesday to Wednesday this week.

Both the salvors and the Braemar Howells container recovery teams remain ready to respond to any fresh loss of containers or debris from the wreck.

Flying operations continued during the weekend with more debris lifted from the wreck by helicopter.

Container numbers recovered from the Rena stand at 685, including those recovered from the ship, the sea and the beaches.

Rena debris was found at Whakatane and Ohope on Friday. A team is in the area today to move the refrigerated container foam that was collected on Friday and moved up above the tide line.

A Braemar Howells team was today at Orokawa Bay north of Waihi Beach stacking timber on the beach. The timber will be heli-lifted to a barge for removal when the weather permits.

Braemar Howells has also spent the weekend putting contingency plans in place ready for expected high swells predicted to hit the Mount Maunganui area mid-week. Anyone coming across containers or debris is asked to please call 0800 333 771.

A small amount of oil discovered on Leisure Island late last week has been cleaned up.

A small amount of oil found at Sulphur Point is being cleaned up on Monday. The teams will tomorrow focus on removing a small amount of oil discovered around Mt Maunganui. Beach surveys are also being undertaken from Mt Maunganui to Kaituna.
There remains some inside the wreck and may continue to come ashore, particularly following periods of rough weather. People are encouraged to exercise caution and report any oil to 0800 645 774.