$27.6 mln settlement reached on MV Rena
Maritime New Zealand (MNA) said today it has reached a settlement with Athens, Greece based Daina Shipping following the grounding and sinking of their vessel, MV Rena, after it ran aground on the Astrolabe Reef near the port of Tauranga, New Zealand on October 5, 2011 spilling over 300 tonnes of fuel into the water, Ship & Bunker reports.
MNA Director Keith Manch said that Daina Shipping will pay $27.6 million to settle the claims of the Crown and public bodies having argued that as registered owners, Daina Shipping, a subsidiary of fellow Greek shipping company Costamare Inc, had overall responsibility for the ship's operation.
"This was a very complex negotiation given the range of issues and parties involved, and represents a good outcome for New Zealanders," said Manch.
"As with any settlement it is about finding a solution that both sides can live with, and I would like to acknowledge the constructive approach taken by Daina Shipping Company and their continuing commitment to meet their obligations under New Zealand law," he added.
The firm was said to be working with its insurers, The Swedish Club, as to whether to apply to leave part of the wreck in place.
Should that course of action be taken, and be granted, an additional payment of $10.4 million will be paid to the Crown, which it said would reflect their reduced salvage costs.
Konstantinos Zacharatos, on behalf of Daina Shipping Company, said: "We have always sought to work closely with the New Zealand authorities to address all aspects of this serious incident. This settlement is a vital step forward in our progressive resolution of all the issues, and I want to thank the New Zealand authorities for all of their work that has gone into achieving this outcome."
New Zealand's opposition Labour Party Environment spokesperson Grant Robertson said in August that the MV Rena clean-up operation has cost the tax-payer $50 million in addition to seeing "the heart-breaking environmental cost of the grounding."
The captain and second officer of the MV Rena were deported back to the Philippines last month having served half of the seven month jail sentence handed down for their part in what the country's Environment minister, Nick Smith called New Zealand's "most significant maritime environmental disaster."