Rena: Costamare boxship away off Astrolabe Reef

An investigation into the grounding and breaking up of the Rena, a Liberian-flagged ship owned by the Greek shipping firm Costamare, is ongoing. The ship's captain and navigation officer, both Philippine nationals, will next month face criminal charges relating to operating a vessel in a dangerous manner and allowing the release of toxic materials.

Rena: NZ charges officers with perverting justice

Both men, who have name suppression, appeared in Tauranga District Court today and faced a new charge alleging they altered the ship's documents after it crashed into the Astrolabe reef, attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The charges were laid under the Crimes Act and could see the men facing jail time.

Corrupting juries and witnesses
Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who—
(a) dissuades or attempts to dissuade a person, by threats, bribes, or other corrupt means, from giving evidence in any cause or matter (whether civil or criminal, and whether tried or to be tried in New Zealand or in an overseas jurisdiction); or
(b) influences or attempts to influence, by threats or bribes or other corrupt means, a member of a jury in his or her conduct as such (whether in a cause or matter tried or to be tried in New Zealand or in an overseas jurisdiction, and whether the member has been sworn as a member of a particular jury or not); or
(c) accepts any bribe or other corrupt consideration to abstain from giving evidence (whether in a cause or matter tried or to be tried in New Zealand or in an overseas jurisdiction); or
(d) accepts any bribe or other corrupt consideration on account of his or her conduct as a member of a jury (whether in a cause or matter tried or to be tried in New Zealand or in an overseas jurisdiction, and whether the member has been sworn as a member of a particular jury or not); or
(e) wilfully attempts in any other way to obstruct, prevent, pervert, or defeat the course of justice in New Zealand or the course of justice in an overseas jurisdiction.

Both were remanded at large to reappear in Tauranga District Court on February 29.

Rena: water not supporting bow, stern

Liberian-flagged Rena has been stuck for nine days on a reef 14 miles off the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, spilling about 300 tons of heavy toxic fuel and some of its hundreds of containers into the sea."What's holding the vessel together at the moment is the fact she's lying on the reef and some internal structures, companionways, ducting and the like inside the vessel," Maritime NZ spokesman "The ship is supported over part of its bottom and the water is not providing the usual support to the bow and stern so the static forces will be tending to bend the ship. In addition the waves will be causing changing forces that will tend to grow cracks,"
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