Saturday, 19 October 2024, 5:12 pm Press Release: New Zealand Defence Force
Preparations are underway to float, then tow three
10-foot containers from the reef to the shore, which
involves a local contractor, ARK Marine.
The plan is
for the first container, one of the two empty ones, to be
towed ashore on the high tide later today.
The first
step in this operation is to secure float bags under the
container to lift it, then tow the container to
shore.
Once it gets to shore, it is to be lifted
onto a truck for safe transportation to a secure site for
disposal.
Two of the containers are empty and the
third contains around 3 tonnes of food. They are moving with
tides and swells and they pose an environmental
risk.
The work, which has been approved by Samoan
government officials, is dependent on the weather and sea
conditions and could take at least three days.
The
NZDF and its partner agencies, with the backing of the New
Zealand Government, are doing everything we can to mitigate
any possible impacts on the
environment.
