2 May 2012

Teams to clean up Rena debris on Great Barrier Island

12:12 pm on 2 May 2012

The company responsible for cleaning up debris from the container ship Rena is to send teams to Great Barrier Island, the northernmost point where debris has now washed up.

Braemar Howells spokesperson Monique Balvert-O'Connor says a surveillance flight this week revealed timber and packs of noodles have washed up on the island.

Ms Balvert-O'Connor says it is not surprising the cargo has landed on the island given tides and currents.

She says clean-up efforts are focused at present on collecting debris from Coromandel Peninsula and Matakana Island off Tauranga. Teams will soon be despatched to begin the clean-up.

The Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef off the coast of Tauranga on 5 October 2011.