Six containers of pollutants remain to be emptied by divers working on the fast-disappearing hulk of the Rena.
Maritime New Zealand spokesman Reece Golding said 1200 tonnes of debris from the wreck remained to be recovered, together with 200 to 300 tonnes of the front section of the Rena stuck on Astrolabe Reef.
His briefing to the Tauranga City Council yesterday focussed on dismantling the front section stuck on the reef so that it ended up 1m below low tide, and emptying the last of the containers that hold cargo of "potential concern".
The containers were in the submerged stern section of the Rena that had slid down the reef.
Three containers held ferro-silicon, two held the small plastic beads that had washed up on shore during last month's storm, and one held copper.