|
Posted by on March 08, 2006 at 12:33:40:
No-go zone declared around snapped wreck of HMNZS Wellington Dive experts are dismissing concerns about a sunken navy frigate off Wellington's south coast that was snapped in two by weekend storms. The parts are around 100 metres apart. A 200m no-go zone has been declared around HMNZS Wellington for eight days. The decommissioned frigate was sunk last November to be a dive site and now a team has to remap the vessel and decide if it's still safe for people to explore inside. Sink F69 Trust chairman, Marco Zeeman, says they are just taking precautionary measures. Same thing at HMNZS Waikato He says a similar thing happened to the Wellington's sister ship, HMNZS Waikato, which was sunk off the Northland coast six years ago. She split in two just a month after the sinking and Mr Zeeman says that did not cause any problems. But environmentalist, Chris Horne, says it is now just a matter of time before bits of steel plate begin rusting on the sea bed. Mr Horne is the vice President of the Wellington Botanical Society, and made a submission against the original plan to sink the boat. He says now he's been proved right.
| 
