27 Aug 2012

Stranded boat spends another night in open water

3:21 pm on 27 August 2012

A fishing boat stranded in Foveaux Strait has spent another night in open water, on Sunday.

The Torea struck rocks and began to take on water on Friday, but the skipper managed to run it aground close to Ruapuke Island and ferry the 22 other people aboard to safety.

Scuba divers have plugged diesel leaks and patched holes in the vessel's hull, and it was hoped it could be towed into Bluff on Sunday evening.

But New Zealand Diving and Salvage says that did not happen because the salvage is proving more difficult than anticipated.

Special operations manager Dougal Fergus says there were no signs of any oil leaks on Sunday which is positive.

He says the vessel is in shallower water than first thought and that makes it harder to re-float.