Editorial: Effects of Rena set to continue

Six months ago, in the wee small hours of October 5, the CV Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef. It was 2.20am and there were 25 crew aboard the 236-metre container vessel.

The fallout from that early morning grounding has swung between minimal and catastrophic. Some days it seemed like summer might be cancelled. Businesses feared for their survival, beachgoers lamented the loss of their pristine surf and sand.

But, fairly quickly, thanks largely to the efforts and courage of people tasked with retrieving oil from the wreck, it became evident that much of the predicted chaos would not eventuate. When summer did offer up a nice day, the beaches were packed as usual. Tourists continued to visit. Businesses limped along, even though they were battling the double-whammy of the Rena and a recession. Yesterday, the wreck slumped a little on the reef and the Rena's bridge slipped out of view. In other words, the stern sank.

The wreck broke in two and first started to slip below the surface in January. Yesterday, on the eve of today's six-month anniversary since the grounding, one half of the Rena disappeared from view. It had been hammered by high seas and the sinking of the stern was not unexpected. Since January, the bridge had only been a few metres above the water line.

Maritime New Zealand says the sinking is significant - even though we don't know what sort of shift it represents below the surface.

The sinking is certainly significant for those of us who have become accustomed to the sight of the wreck on the horizon. When I visited Motiti Island late last year, a local kaumatua told me he'd actually miss the Rena when she was gone. The environmental disaster which rolled up on Motiti's shores had also drawn whanau home to help with the clean-up and volunteers had arrived from all over the world to stay on the larger of the island's two marae. His message was one of seeking out a blessing in the grounding. For those of us on the mainland, the blessings may be harder to decipher. We have a new waterfront walkway in Tauranga courtesy of salvaged logs which were once cargo on the Rena.

There have been some jobs created and we have perhaps noted a growing community-mindedness, and a greater appreciation for the clean beaches we possibly took for granted. These potential adjustments in our collective perspective seem like small gains for what at times have been huge losses. Has anyone forgotten the image of the black oil layered across Papamoa Beach, or the dead seabirds cloaked in black gunge?

I wonder what it means to see the ship dropping beneath the surface. If Rena's bow eventually falls from view, joining the stern beneath the surface, it may feel for some like the shipwreck is finally gone. While our focus shifts from the wreck and the carelessness which led to the grounding, we must not let the lessons of this grounding be forgotten. The stern may have vanished, but the legacy of Rena will linger for a long time yet.