DONGWON701

scrapped

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

reported as Total Loss

reported as Total Loss 09.04.18

Scuttling plans reviewed by EPA

The 'Dong Won 701' was remaining at PrimePort Timaru more than three years after it caught fire on April 9, 2018. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) was carrying out a last minute review of its consent conditions for the disposal of the vessel. The Authority confirmed the review on May 5, after Environment Canterbury (Ecan) made public its last minute plea for it to reconsider how the vessel was disposed of. The review related to the extent, if any, of asbestos that might remain on the 'Dong Won 701' at the time of scuttling and, if some asbestos was to remain, the likelihood of this having any adverse environmental effects. On April 30, 2020, the EPA gave its owner Dong Won New Zealand (DWNZ) a marine dumping consent to scuttle the vessel safely in an approved marine dumping site 25 nautical miles south-east of Otago Harbour. In March, just a month before the wreck was expected to finally be disposed of, Ecan chief executive Bill Bayfield wrote to the EPA urging it to reconsider. The regional council has no statutory means to influence the decision. Bayfield urged the EPA to rethink how the fire-damaged vessel should be disposed of rather than scuttling. In February a company spokeswoman said the departure date for its scuttling had not been fixed, although the EPA expected the vessel to be scuttled in April.

Scuttling delayed

Work in Timaru preparing the fire-ravaged 'Dong Won 701' for scuttling off the Otago coast has been taking longer than expected. A New Zealand salvage company began the preparations on Oct 12 with the work predicted to take 50 working days which would have put it ready for scuttling before the Christmas/New Year period. Now the crew will work through until Christmas and resume in the New Year. It will be late January before there is a better idea about the completion date. The work being undertaken is to ensure the vessel is environmentally safe for scuttling in an Environmental Protection Authority-approved site 25 nautical miles south east of Otago Harbour. On April 30 the EPA had granted a non-notified consent for the vessel to be scuttled in a decision that included the detonation of explosives, but not if any marine mammals were visually observed within 600 meters of the vessel in the 30 minutes prior to sinking. Report with photos and video: https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/123736215/dong-won-701-scuttling-off-otago-coast-delayed