Crewmen Deemed Responsible for Rena Shipwreck Released from Prison

The captain and the navigator of the wrecked M/V Rena have both been released from prison and are scheduled to be deported back to their home country, the Philippines.

Leonil Relon and Mauro Balomaga were sentenced in May to seven months imprisonment for their role in the ship's grounding off the Tauranga, New Zealand coast. After serving about half of their sentence, the duo is now in immigration officials’ custody.

The salvage team responsible for removing sections of the Rena’s bow has assured that the shipwreck will not be visible on the Bay of Plenty horizon by the end of 2012. U.S.-based Resolve Salvage and Fire has recruited the help of Belgian specialist gas cutters, who will use an innovative technique to cut the wreck up.

After running aground nearly a year ago on the Astrolabe Reef, the M/V Rena accident has been noted as New Zealand’s worst maritime environmental disaster.