A total of 575 tonnes of steel and more than 1000 containers have been removed from the Rena wreck as it edges closer to the one year anniversary of the grounding on October 5.

Maritime New Zealand reports a total of 140 tonnes of steel was removed from the wreck in the last week.

Salvors have removed a total of 575 tonnes of steel and 1003 containers from the Rena wreck.

A specialist team of salvage divers will take to the water next week, working in tandem with a crane barge.

The RMG 280 crane barge, which can raise pieces of steel weighing up to 40 tonnes, has been equipped and is expected to start operations in the coming days.

The Braemar/Unimar recovery teams have passed the milestone of 1000 containers with a total of 1003 removed from the wreck.

The ship was carrying 1368 containers when it struck the Astrolabe Reef.

This leaves 365, with most around the wreck site or in the stern section.
Braemar operations manager Mike Richards says the milestone was reached this week after the positive identification of more container parts hauled up from the seabed at the wreck site.

'We take our hats off to all those involved in the on-going joint recovery effort – from the salvors, Braemar and Unimar staff, to Maritime New Zealand, support services companies, and many others.”

He says the work of identifying containers from numbers on scrap recovered has been a huge behind-the-scenes task in its own right, carried out by specialists in distressed cargo.

The Braemar/Unimar teams have also made good progress in the recovery of scrap and debris from the wreck site, which has been hauled aboard the Tasman Challenger recovery vessel.