With an end to the oil pollution threat from the wrecked Costamare containership Rena in sight the question of what to do with what remains of the ship is becoming an issue in New Zealand.
The authorities have issued a wreck removal notice requiring the shipowner to dispose of the 3,032-teu Rena (built 1990) which will potentially produce a very costly claim for the Swedish Club which has both the hull and the protection and indemnity cover on the vessel.
The bunker removal operation underway at the Astrolabe Reef.But a full scale wreck removal may not be required. The idea of moving the wreck off the Bay of Plenty’s Astrolabe Reef and sinking all or part of the ship in deeper water is being mooted in New Zealand.
A divers' association believes the sunken wreck could become an underwater attraction with other voices suggesting an artificial reef would boost the maritime environment and sea life.
If the Rena became a reef it would be good news for the Swedish Club and for the claims record of Costamare.
But the owner and the club are also facing a threat from a campaign so far backed by 5,000 New Zealanders to make Costamare and its insurer pick up the entire bill for the Rena casualty, clean-up and salvage – a bill that might run to as much as $100m.
New Zealanders are also learning about maritime limitation and the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC) which appears relevant to the Rena loss.
For the Rena, a ship of 38,000 gross tons, the LLMC limitation amount is about SDR 6m ($9.5m) or NZD 12m with lawyers suggesting that it would be hard under New Zealand law to break limitation.
It looks as if the limitation issue may become a political hot potato with Costamare and the Swedish Club under pressure to go a good way beyond payment of the minimum amount.
There is also discussion of the possibility of a criminal prosecution over the grounding of Rena.
So there is both good and bad news for Costamare and the Swedish Club, but maybe also an environment where there could be room for deals over the LLMC limit, wreck removal and a prosecution.
Meanwhile Maritime New Zealand says good progress is being made in removing the bunkers of the Rena although there are hundreds of tonnes of oil to remove. The flow rate of the pump over to a tank barge is only three or four tones an hour with weather and sea conditions having the potential to delay operations.
Source: Jim Mulrenan, Tradewinds Singapore
http://www.tradewindsnews.com/casualties/646824/make-rena-wreck-a-reef-plea?lots=site
A sad day when the Powers that really shouldn't BE use a financial contract as the means to gag someone. It rather indicates some sense of guilt or inadequacy by those imposing the gag. Do they think or suspect that they haven’t done a good job or are those higher up the tree afraid that their general ignorance of their responsibilities might get back to those that elected them? Lets hope that there is someone in MNZ who has some bottle. Xmariner
ReplyDeleteAs a retired lawyer I think that it is high time to revise the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims. The limitation is much too low, as the Rena situation demonstrates.
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame. I only just found this blog today, thanks to an article in the news about it. How about turning all your posts on the Rena into an ebook? It would make great reading and you could even self publish it on Amazon and make some money :)
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to delete these posts do you? If you do, I am sure many of us would be happy to rehost them for you.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the Helen Clark appointed Director of Marine Catherine Taylor has shown that she is out of her depth. There needs to be a Commission or Inquiry into her and her teams performance. That should start with why it took her so long to envoke Section 248 of the MTA and why her lawyers thought she might be liable if she used a law which was made to give the Director power. A big delay so the owners could run a dutch auction between potential salvors. Hw about the International Expert Dive Team being made to do a 1 day course at the Devoport Naval Base before they were allowed to work on the wreck. How ignorant and arrogant was that by MNZ. Plenty more to come
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this insight. Very sad to hear that you have been gagged, and that we need to again get out information fix through homogenised sources. There seems a lack of basic background information, like the limited free water around the wreck to allow simultaneous pumping and container removal, a seemingly minor detail that has left many people I have spoken to come up with some ridiculous conspiracy theories and outright ludicrous claims! Reality is sometimes so much more logical, smelly, and quite possibly boringly tedious!? ......keep up the good work on the Rena. .....it must be a job that’s several orders of magnitude bigger than we can possibly imagine.
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