Parallel pumping has commenced and containers are being recovered from the sea floor, as salvors take advantage of the interval of fine weather over the long weekend.

A container being recovered. Photo: Svitzer

A second pump was installed on the container ship Rena, aground on Astrolabe reef on Sunday which is going to enable salvors to nearly double the rate at which fuel oil is removed from the ship.

It has a 15cm (6”) diameter hose compared with the previous pump's 7cm (3”) hose and will pump oil to the tanker via two hoses, says MNZ salvage unit manager Bruce Anderson.

'That hose is used to take fuel out of the tank, and it then splits into two separate 3 inch hoses, each fitted with booster pumps. Those hoses then take the fuel to the Awanuia,” says Bruce.

By 1pm Sunday 337 tonnes of oil pumped was pumped from the Rena's portside number five tank, which originally held 772 tonnes.

Engineers on board Rena are also in the process of installing generators to power pumps for the engine room settling tanks.

Divers have confirmed that the submerged starboard tank, which holds 320 tonnes of oil, is intact.

'The fact that divers found the starboard tank intact is excellent. We hope to start recovering oil from this tank soon,” says Bruce.

The Pancaldo, a multi-purpose ship with its own cranes, recovered four containers from the sea floor on Sunday. This was achieved by working with divers who attached the cables to the container remnants so they could be lifted on board.

Oil boomers and skimmers were used Sunday to attempt to contain and recover an estimated five to 10 tonnes of oil believed to have escaped from the ship's duct keel overnight Saturday.

An oil boom being deloyed: Photo MNZ

The slick was observed heading towards Mayor Island on Sunday, but MNZ were unable to give any information on Monday morning.

The new slick is not expected to make a landfall before Wednesday, says MNZ.

A wildlife team is expected to arrive on Tuhua Mayor Island today to assess the likely impact on wildlife.