A barge that was grounded on a Westport beach for close to a week has berthed in Nelson after being successfully refloated and towed 315km around the top of the South Island.
The Westland Mineral Sands barge Manahau ran aground at Carters Beach last Saturday with 11 crew members on board.
Teams freed the vessel on Friday and towed it up the West Coast, rounding Farewell Spit before the offshore towing vessel MMA Vision brought it into Tasman Bay with the support of the tug Kurutai.
The Kuritai then towed the barge into Port Nelson supported by harbour tugs while the MMA Vision was released to return to New Plymouth. Westland Mineral Sands developed and implemented the plan for the salvage and towing operation under the supervision of Maritime NZ.
Tasman and Nelson Harbour Masters were involved prior to the vessel’s arrival to ensure safety and environmental protection.
Maritime NZ incident controller Andrew Saunderson said the organisation was pleased the vessel had made the journey safely.
“We want to thank everyone who has been involved for their efforts.”
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has opened an inquiry into the grounding, with a team of investigators inspecting the vessel, recovering the ship’s records, interviewing the crew, authorities and any other witnesses.
