June 12, 2014
Rena risk concerns Flavell
Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell says Bay of Plenty iwi should consider the safety of workers involved in the Rena salvage.
The owners of the ship are seeking resource consent to leave what’s left of the wreck on the Astrolabe Reef, where it ran aground in Octoer 2011.
Iwi are opposing the consent on environmental and cultural grounds.
Mr Flavell says he sympathises with that position, but talking with divers has made him aware of the complexity of the task.
"They tell me they have to go down to depth and cut big pieces of the ship off in order for them to haul it up to vessels that take it away but the hard part is working at that depth and with huge pieces of metal it's really dangerous because of the surges, the tides, everything that goes with salvaging, and there's a huge element of danger there for even the most professional of professionals at working at depth," he says.
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd