Stricken NZ ship so recently here

The Liberian flagged container vessel Rena now disgorging its oil and containers into the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand was in Port Phillip Bay on 19th and 20th September.

.... and in the last three months Rena was found to have dozens of "deficiencies" when arriving in other ports. (ABC radio PM 11th October 2011)

Image AP

The Rena's captain has now been arrested under the Maritime Act and has appeared in Tauranga District Court facing a charge of operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary risk or danger. NZ's PM Mr Key said the government was determined to hold those responsible for the disaster to account.

"This is putting at risk the livelihoods of a number of people in this area. "It's causing a huge amount of concern and rightly so to local residents," he said.

"Quite frankly the responsibility of those on the ship were to navigate a reef that is well documented and well known... this is a ship that at 17 and a half knots rammed itself into a well-documented reef and we're entitled to have answers about why that happened." Mr Key said insurance liability on the ship was capped and any expense beyond that would have to fall on the taxpayer.

Media reports confirm that over the last three months, problems with the vessel were picked up in ports in China, Fremantle in Western Australia, and most recently in the Port of Bluff in New Zealand.....but not it seems the Port of Melbourne before heading to NZ.
Just how carefully was it checked whilst here then? Could this disaster have been averted with better scrutiny by our Port of Melbourne?  


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