Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG in Kiel, Germany built MV Rena, a 3351 TEU container ship in 1990. A Greek shipping company named Diana Shipping Co., a subsidiary of the Costamare Inc., owned the Rena container ship.
Rena ran aground the Astrolabe Reef on 5 October 2011, causing a major oil spill near Tauranga that has since been described as the worst maritime environmental disaster in New Zealand.
Rena broke into two halves on 8 January 2012, as heavy winds hit the region. The ship went underwater on January 10 while the crew was successfully evacuated.
The disaster could have been avoided by better navigation systems and a more skilled crew. The effects of the oil spill are still evident along the coast of New Zealand.
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