WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Salvage teams were back on the stranded cargo vessel Rena after high seas suspended recovery operations from the oil-laden ship, New Zealand said.
Bruce Anderson, salvage unit manager for Maritime New Zealand, said three teams of three workers returned to the ship after weather cleared overnight.
"They will first make sure the vessel is safe to work on and then they'll be working on re-establishing all their on-board systems for fuel removal," he said.
Most of the oil on the ship after it struck a reef off the coast of New Zealand was removed. The bulk of the oil remaining on board is in a submerged tank on the ship's starboard side, which shows signs of significant structural damage.
Authorities during the week's bad weather said they were worried that Rena would break apart in the high seas. Oil was reported on some of New Zealand's shores but MNZ said most of that was residual oil that was "remobilized" by the bad weather.
More rough weather was expected this week. Anderson said responders were working to make progress while they had a brief clearing.
