• 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.

© Scoop Media