A strong sea swell held up unloading containers from a ship that ran aground on a New Zealand reef two months ago, as the Dutch salvage company confirmed that it had set a high price on the cargo as a guarantee it would be paid for a long and difficult job.

It was the second day the weather had stopped workers from salvage company Svitzer unloading containers piled high on the deck of the 47,000-ton Liberian-registered Rena, which sits cracked almost in two and listing 21 degrees on the reef it hit on October 5.

A 3-metre swell continued to rock the stricken ship, preventing a crane barge that has already lifted 166 containers from the ship resuming the task of removing another 1,100.

Maritime New Zealand said, however, that salvors remained on board, installing rigging needed for the operation to continue when the seas drop and continuing to skim residual fuel oil from the wreck.

“No one knows how long this job is going to go on or how much it will cost,” spokesman Matthew Watson told Radio New Zealand. “Svitzer needs security and guarantee that it's being paid for the work.”
 
 
Source: mb