In early October, the MV Rena, a container ship owned by the Greek shipping company Costamare Inc, ran hard aground on the Astrolabe Reef in in the Bay of Plenty off New Zealand’s North Island.  When she struck the reef, the Rena was loaded with approximately 2,100 containers and around 1,700 tonnes of heavy fuel.  With the bow of the ship on the reef and the stern floating, structural cracking in the hull began to appear within two weeks of the grounding. The ship has now finally broken completely in half.  There is now concern that the stern of the ship could sink, potentially causing a new oil spill.  Also between 200 and 300 containers are believed to have fallen into the sea when the ship broke up, creating additional hazards to navigation.  Thanks to Alaric Bond for passing the news along and the Phil Leon for pointing out the video.

2012-01-08 – 3NEWS – RENA BREAKS IN HALF IN SEVERE STORMS

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