Specialist tug boats are being scrambled to the West Coast in a bid to refloat the Manahau sand barge after it ran aground last night near Westport following a week of stormy weather.
Work is now being undertaken to ensure the grounded barge remains
Manahau tank barge runs aground on Westport beach following week of rough weather
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The Manahau has run aground at Carters Beach, Westport. Photo / Marlene Coleman, Facebook
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“Refloating the vessel will be a delicate operation, and we will closely review any plans being put in place by the operator.”
Maritime New Zealand discourages anyone from climbing on the vessel and disturbing anyone working around it.
The near 100m barge is currently intact and no items have been lost.
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Maritime New Zealand confirmed there are no leaks and there was no cargo on board at the time.
The self-powered barge came into service in August 2024 carrying mineral sands out of shallow draught port Westport to Nelson.
One local man posted on Facebook this morning, saying: “The barge could not have chosen a better place to ground itself”.
“The bow may be anchored but the vessel is basically broadsides and the stern seems to be floating.
“The tide was three hours away but it did seem to move about. It is about 200m towards the river, from Carters Beach village. In front of the golf links.”
Buller District Mayor Jamie Cleine said the Manahau had been anchored offshore for the past week and was not able to come in due to bad weather.
“At this stage, I have been advised there have been no injuries to anybody and no environmental concerns at this time.”
Cleine said tugs from around New Zealand would likely be needed to refloat it.
He said the weather had been “horrific” during the past few nights.
“We have had a really rough week or so of weather and overnight was squally thunderstorms and winds.”
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In a statement from the Maritime Union of New Zealand, national secretary Carl Findlay said the grounding “raises major questions”.
“Concerns had been previously raised by New Zealand seafarers about the foreign crew and flag of the barge,” he said.
He said the cause of the grounding has yet to be confirmed, but the difficult local conditions at Westport, including recent poor weather, would be obvious issues to consider.
Findlay said the Manahau did not have a New Zealand crew and the flag state was Niue.
“Vessels such as the Manahau operating in New Zealand’s unique and challenging maritime environment should be crewed by experienced New Zealand seafarers.”
The operators of the Manahau had benefitted from government funding for the vessel, he said, despite the ship not being New Zealand-flagged nor crewed.
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“In the last several years, we saw an upsurge in New Zealand-crewed coastal shipping, but this is now going backwards with the loss of coastal shipping services, or in this case, failing to provide jobs for skilled local crews,” Findlay said.
“New Zealand needs to build its coastal shipping capacity, and that means New Zealand owned, operated, and crewed ships.”
The vessel’s owner, WMS Group, said in a statement that the barge ran aground.
“All 11 crew on board are safe and there are no environmental concerns.
“Westland Mineral Sands is working closely with relevant maritime and coastguard authorities to understand how this incident occurred.”
Following a discussion with local and regional authorities, Maritime New Zealand is now the lead response agency for the incident.
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This means it will oversee the government response work being undertaken in relation to the vessel and the grounding.
