FACT FILE

© Maritime New Zealand

Grounding of

container ship Rena

in New Zealand

O
n 5th October 2011, the container ship Rena ran aground in the Bay of Plenty (North
Island, New Zealand). The 236 metre long vessel was carrying 1,368 containers,
including 32 containing hazardous substances, and 1,700 tonnes of bunker fuel
(IFO 380). Adverse weather conditions together with the structural strain caused
several dozen containers to fall overboard, and drift or sink at sea, while an initially
estimated 350 m3 of fuel oil polluted the shores some 20 km away.

The incident
Early in the morning on 5th October, the container ship
Rena was headed for the Port of Tauranga, on the north
coast of New Zealand. As the ship was running late, the
captain shortened the route and, at around 2 am, ran
aground on Astrolabe Reef, 12 nautical miles off the
coast and 3 nautical miles from Motiti Island in the Bay
of Plenty. This reef, discovered in 1822 by Dumont-Dur-
ville, is mapped but is not marked by a beacon.
The sea was calm yet attempts to refloat the vessel were
unsuccessful. The ship was balancing on the rock, with
only the front part in contact with the reef. The water
below the propeller was around 60 metres deep. The
National Contingency Plan was activated at 7 am. The
ship was initially listing 10° to port but, but was suffer-
ing under wave action. On 6 October, the front starboard
tank was pierced and the beaches and rocky coasts were
rapidly oiled. Motion sensors were fitted to the vessel's
hull to monitor structural stress. On 12th October, a
vertical crack appeared on the port side of the vessel,
arousing fears of the hull breaking.
On the night of 12th to 13th October, severe weather
conditions caused the vessel to shift to a starboard list
(20°) and caused a new release of oil as well as the loss
of 88 containers.

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FACT FILE
Grounding of container ship
Rena
The vessel
Name Rena (1990, formerly Andaman Sea)
Shipyard Howaltdswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (Kiel, Germany) 1990
Ship type Container ship (integral tank), 3,352 TEU
Deadweight 47,230 tonnes
Length 236 metres
Width 32,20 metres
Draught 12 metres
Engine Sulzer – 29,474 horsepower
Cargo 1,368 containers
Bunkers 1,700 tonnes of IFO 380
Marine diesel 150 tonnes of marine diesel
Flag Liberia (port of registry: Monrovia)
Owner Costamare
Operator MSC
P&I Club Swedish Club
Classification society ABS

On 10th January, the vessel eventually
broke in two in bad weather, causing
more containers to be lost and the stern
section to sink off the edge of the reef.
New Zealand response organisation
In New Zealand, in the event of an oil
or HNS spill, Maritime New Zealand is in
charge of response at sea and on shore,
through its Marine Pollution Response
Service. This national agency is respon-
sible for response to tier 3 spills (i.e.
incidents involving the mobilisation of
national and international resources).
The activation of the National Contin-
gency Plan resulted in:
• The creation of an Incident Command
Centre (ICC), which involved 200-300
people at the height of the response
(Oct-Nov 2011), located at a disused
supermarket in Tauranga.
• Command and control of operations
by the Maritime New Zealand On
Scene Commander (OSC) with civil
defence coordination. The OSC had
a dozen units (survey & mapping,
clean-up, waste, containers, salvage,
equipment and personnel logistics,
wildlife...) under his orders.
• An office dedicated to respect for
Maori traditions, as some of the areas
affected by the pollution were Maori
territories.
• The presence of many contractors:
Svitzer for wreck salvage (fuel oil
pumping operations in particular),
OSRL (5 staff), Braemar Howells for
the salvage of containers on board,
at sea and on the shore, London Off-
shore Consultants for the calculation
of structural strain...
• Many staff of all levels mobilised by
the Australian authorities, with which
New Zealand maintains very close
relations.

From the onset, Cedre contacted the New

Zealand authorities to offer its assistance.
Upon invitation from Maritime New Zea-
land, the head of Cedre's Emergency Re-
sponse Department was present in Tau-
ranga from 21st October to 1st November
2011. On site, he contributed to incident
management activities, took part in over-
flights and conducted shoreline surveys.
He was invited to present the conclusions
of his mission at an Incident Command
Centre meeting. Cedre would like to thank
Maritime New Zealand for their warm wel-
© Cedre

come and the transparency of their inci-

dent management.

The Incident Command Centre (ICC) in Tauranga

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2

Information flow between the different
units was considered to be fundamen-
tal. The schedules and daily action plans
were clearly displayed. Two daily ICC
meetings (7:30 am and 5:30 pm) were
the opportunity to organise the day's
work and go over the day's events. An
intranet system was set up so that the
personnel had access to the different
location maps.
The shoreline and its characteristics
The coast of Tauranga is character-
ised by long sandy beaches with rolling
surf (Tauranga is a surf spot) backed
by dunes and intersected with rocky
points, where the organisms found are
typical of wave-beaten environments.
The presence of debris, major deposits
of seaweed, plants, dead wood at the
top of rocky shores attests to the strong
currents and sediment transport.
Sand spits are home to large sea marsh-
es which are drained with the tides,
whose range varies from 2 to 3 metres,
offering birdlife abundant food resourc-
es. In these marshes, a very rare species
can be found, the New Zealand Dotterel
(Charadrius obscuru) of which there are
less than 1,500 individuals in New Zea-
land.
The prairies behind the wave-beaten
rocky areas constitute nocturnal refuge
areas for Little Blue Penguins (Eudyp-
tula minor) during the breeding period
(September-November), while seals pre-
fer sunny rocky areas.
Barge moored to the Rena
Grounding of container ship
Barge used to recover containers at sea and on the shore
Cargo and bunker fuel
When the grounding occurred, the Rena
was carrying 1,368 containers, of which
11 were initially classified as hazardous:
hydrogen peroxide (oxidiser), trichlo-
roisocyanuric acid (noxious, oxidiser,
toxic to aquatic life), potassium nitrate
(oxidiser), ferrosilicon (highly toxic by
inhalation of gases — arsine and phos-
phine — upon contact with water), alky-
sulphonic liquid (corrosive).
However, on 22nd November, Maritime
New Zealand was alerted by the insurer
to another cargo of undeclared hazard-
© Maritime New Zealand
FACT FILE
Rena
© Cedre
ous substances such as: 21 containers
carrying 490 tonnes of aluminium triso-
dium hexafluoride, or cryolite, in one-
tonne bulk bags. This powdered product
is dangerous in case of prolonged expo-
sure, irritant to the skin and mucous
membranes and harmful to the environ-
ment. The manifest records the prod-
uct as “Cover Bath Material” and “Pure
Tapped Bath Material”... The products
transported also included perishable
goods, such as milk powder and meat
in refrigerated containers (121), repre-
senting a total of 2,900 tonnes. The ves-
sel was also transporting timber.
The bunkers contained 1,700 tonnes of
IFO 380 (viscosity measured at 380 cSt
at 50°C), with a density of 0.99, seem-
ingly produced by atmospheric distilla-
tion, 150 tonnes of marine diesel and 20
tonnes of machine oil.
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FACT FILE
Grounding of container ship
Rena
Operations
Fuel removal
The salvage company Svitzer
was contracted to pump
out the 1,700 tonnes of IFO
on board. Operations got
underway quickly, with fuel
removal beginning on 9th
October. A small tanker,
Awanuia, was moored a
few dozen metres from the
stern of the Rena and held in
place by a tug.
Preparation for pumping
operations rapidly proved
difficult for teams. The ship's
list, slippery decks, adverse
weather conditions which
prevented onboard access by
sea, the need to fly all the
equipment (pumps, hoses,
power packs...) and person-
nel in by helicopter, the han-
dling of 5 inch then 6 inch
hoses and the construction
of work platforms meant
that the pumping of the fuel
to the Awanuia did not fully
begin until the 16th October.
A screw pump with too low a
capacity was replaced with
a Marflex submersible pump
with a 6" discharge diam-
eter with water injection to
reduce friction loss and a Y
(two separate 3" hoses) fit-
ted with two booster pumps.
This system doubled the
pump rate, to reach around
8 m3/h.
The number 5 starboard tank
(containing 350 m3 of fuel)
was submerged and required
Diagram illustrating pumping operations
4
© Maritime New Zealand
Container of timber grounded on Motiti Island, Bay of Plenty
divers to set up a cofferdam ber and later when it broke tainers of ferrosilicon was
(water-tight barrier) around in two on 10th January, 267 a delicate operation due to
the tank to enable access containers fell overboard the production of highly tox-
to the tank after the water and drifted at the surface or ic gases upon contact with
between the tank and the sank either intact or dam- seawater. The recovery of
cofferdam had been pumped aged. Intact containers were containers continued above
out. On 20th November, recovered whole on the the water surface for the
most of the accessible fuel shore using various types of bow section and underwater
had been removed, i.e. equipment according to the for the sunken stern sec-
around 1,350 tonnes. accessibility. On Motiti Island tion. By May, 762 containers
a barge was required. Con- had been recovered (661 on
Containers lost overboard
tainers that had burst open board and 101 beached or
Of the containers of hazard- and were scattered along floating). Forty sunken con-
ous goods, only the 24-tonne the shore were recovered by tainers were identified and
container of alkysulphonic road vehicles or helicopters. monitored until they could
acid (class 8) fell overboard Maintaining access to Tau- be recovered, while an esti-
at the beginning of the inci- ranga harbour was a priority mated 240 remained below
dent. The sea state, depth for the ICC. deck in the bow section.
and currents meant that no Side scan sonar was used to
Removing containers from
impact on the aquatic envi- detect sunken containers, by
the ship
ronment was reported. methodically scanning the
Subsequently, several epi- Container recovery began area between the wreck and
sodes of containers falling with the arrival of the barge the coast. Two hundred and
overboard were reported. Smit Borneo from Singapore twenty containers on deck
When the vessel ran aground and was often interrupted were fitted with acoustic
on 5th October, as it tilted by adverse sea conditions. 'pingers' so that they could
to starboard on 15th Octo- The recovery of the 4 con- be more easily detected if
lost at sea. Once the con-
tainers had been detected
they were recovered by the
Ukrainian deepsea anchor
© Maritime New Zealand
tug Go Canopus, equipped
with major lifting capacities.
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 FACT FILE
Grounding of container ship
Rena
At sea response
As tests had demonstrated the efficiency of dispersant on the
type of intermediate fuel oil onboard, dispersant was applied
the day after the grounding, as soon as oil leaks appeared, with
3 m3 of Corexit 9500 applied from aircraft. The application
of dispersants was however rapidly suspended given their low
efficiency on site and the proximity to the coast (New Zealand-
ers are very sensitive to environmental issues and dispersant
application was the subject of much discussion in the press).
Oil recovery at sea was carried out from two roughly 20 metre
oyster barges, fitted out with booms, skimmers and 1 m 3
Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC) for oil storage. Recovery

© Cedre
attempts, including using sorbent booms, did not give signifi-
cant results.
Onshore response
Volunteers were immediately mobilised (almost 8,000 vol-
unteers registered via the Maritime New Zealand website),
with up to 800 people on the shore and at the Command Cen-
tre at the height of the response. The volunteers were not
paid, except for Maoris whose traditions require some form of
reward.
As soon as the ship sank, the coast was oiled, especially at
Tauranga Beach, arousing fears of an unprecedented ecologi-
cal disaster. In reality, this pollution was very local and sandy

© Maritime New Zealand

and rocky areas were affected by so-called "tarballs", 1 to 10
cm in diameter, which could be easily shovelled. The pollution
infiltrated into the sand with wave action. Coastal clean-up
consisted of manual recovery. Clean-up teams were composed
of volunteers, the Army and Maoris, who were the only people
authorised to work in areas considered by their traditions as
sacred sites. After scrubbing rocks, moderate pressure hoses
were used to wash them. Techniques such as surfwashing (with- Clean-up sites
out recovery using sorbent nets) and sand screening, recom-
mended by Cedre when it presented its mission to the ICC, 350-tonne spill.
were also deployed. A classic waste storage system was effectively set up: primary,
On 21st October (16 days after the incident), Tauranga Beach secondary and tertiary storage. The waste was taken to a spe-
was declared open to the public but closed to bathing. The cialised processing centre in the suburbs of Tauranga.
public was alerted to the risks by highly visible signs. Impact on wildlife
Protecting sensitive sites From the first hours following the grounding, the first Little
Blue Penguins oiled by the bunker fuel were recovered on the
Sensitive sites, in particular coastal marshes, were protected
shore. In compliance with the National Contingency Plan (NCP),
using various sizes and types of booms (shore-sealing, sorb-
the Wildlife Response Unit was activated and experts from Mas-
ent...). Given the nature of the pollutant (often hardened tar-
sey University arrived in Tauranga from 5th October. On 7th
balls) and the tidal currents in the river mouths, it may have
October, 4 dead birds were reported. Rescue teams (8 teams
been wise to opt for recovery systems using nets or the deploy-
with a total of 85 people from 8th October), collecting both
ment of filter dams for narrow streams (recommendations
dead and live birds, worked throughout the response. An Oiled
made by Cedre in its final report). Luckily for the environment,
Wildlife Response Centre was set up at the Tauranga wastewa-
only negligible quantities of pollutant entered the lagoons.
ter treatment plant. The oiled water produced by washing the
Waste birds and their daily care was treated directly at the plant. On
Over 1,000 tonnes of solid waste (excluding containers) were 14th October, 200 birds were in care and 1,000 had already
generated by this spill. This may seem little, even given died.
the highly selective techniques deployed, for an estimated

5
FACT FILE
Grounding of container ship
Rena
Around 60 unoiled Dotterels were pre-emptively caught and
placed in captivity at the Wildlife Response Centre, in order
to regenerate a colony if the population were to be decimat-
ed. These birds were released during November and Decem-
ber. Four seals were found dead on 19th October. These were
the only animals (other than birds) reported as having died

© Cedre
due to the spill. The Wildlife Response Centre, able to han-
dle up to 500 birds, is a prime example and reflects the New
Zealanders' sensitivity towards environmental protection. The
Primary waste storage site on upper beach (Tauranga)
bird clean-up chain left no room for amateurism and volun-
teers were supervised by very professional teams from Massey
University and National Wildlife Response Team experts (vets,
ornithologists, scientists...).
At the height of wildlife response, almost 250 people were
involved, including 100 in the treatment centre alone. In total,
nearly 500 birds were treated (mainly penguins but also a few
Guillemots and 60 unoiled Dotterrels). The number of dead
birds exceeded 2,000. These were mainly Little Blue Penguins.
Conclusion
This container ship incident is representative of incidents lia-
ble to occur in all of the globe's seas. The number of contain-
ers was relatively low compared to modern container ships
which can carry 10 times as many and whose bunker capacity
can exceed 10,000 m3. Response and wreck salvage operations
are still underway 9 months after the grounding. The sea and
weather conditions were very difficult, close to
those found in Brittany. Maritime New Zealand's incident man-
agement was exemplary, both in terms of media communi-
cation and of response coordination in the field. The single
response organisation (at sea and on shore) which facilitated
the transparency of actions, the input of public and private
international expertise and the use of personnel duty rotas
(two weeks on site including overlap) contributed to the suc-
cessful management of this incident, despite the pressure gen-
erated by the upcoming elections.
The working conditions of the Svitzer teams in charge of fuel
removal and later of container recovery operations were
exceedingly difficult.
The impacts of the spill were less severe than initially expect-
ed, in particular thanks to the hard work of the teams involved.
Fanch Cabioc’h, Cedre

1 2
© Cedre

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© Maritime New Zealand
© Maritime New Zealand

1. Te Maunga Wildlife Response

Centre
2. Cleaning a Little Blue Penguin
3. Releasing Little Blue Penguins
after cleaning