Grounded cargo barge successfully refloated at New Zealand's South Island

Maritime New Zealand has confirmed that a cargo barge that ran aground on South Island earlier this month has been refloated following a successful salvage operation.

The refloating effort on the barge Manahau at Carters Beach in Westport was undertaken by a collaboration that also included the vessel's operator, Westland Mineral Sands, as well as district and regional councils, while Maritime NZ monitored the entire effort.

The barge was later towed by the offshore support/towing vessel MMA Vision approximately 170 nautical miles to Tasman Bay. The tug Kurutai later brought the barge to Port Nelson, where it is currently berthed.

Maritime NZ’s response team will now stand down and hand over to Maritime NZ regulatory operations. The investigation will continue with the focus on the circumstances that led to the grounding, and the vessel's class society will need to inspect and provide assurance that suitable repairs have been made before it can be released.

The grounding of Manahau occurred shortly after 00:00 local time on September 1. There was no cargo on board at the time, and no spills were detected from the vessel's diesel tanks. No injuries have been reported among the crew.