Rena salvagers will hand over works to a local company.
Rena salvagers will hand over works to a local company.
The international salvage company responsible for removing the Rena wreck will hand over the reins to a local company at the end of the month.
Resolve was appointed to clear the wreckage in 2012 and has spent the past seven months using specialist equipment and divers to clear cargo anddebris from the Astrolabe Reef.
Spokesman for the ship's owner and insurer Hugo Shanahan said the operation had reached the stage where such a large-scale response was no longer needed.
A New Zealand-based operator would complete the final stage, mainly using commercial divers to remove debris by hand.
The local company was expected to be appointed by the end of the month and would bring the wreck to the state proposed in the resource consent submission made by the owner, he said.
The proposal to leave the remainder of the wreck on the reef would be heard by commissioners appointed by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council this year.
Maritime New Zealand yesterday allowed the removal of the the Rena to be paused once it reached the state proposed in the resource consent application until a decision had been made on whether it had to be fully removed or could stay on the reef.
Two notices imposed by the director of Maritime NZ will remain in place during the hiatus, declaring the wreck a "hazardous ship" and a "hazard to navigation".
