Captain , second was given seven months for offenses including operating a vessel in dangerous manner . At least 350 tons of fuel was to spilled into the sea when cargo ship Rena hot a reef off New Zealand . Massive salvage and clean - up operations along New Zealand coast are still underway . Earlier this week , MNZ said `` excellent progress '' has been made on container removal from the wreck site over the past week , with 21 containers removed from the bow section of the vessel on Monday -- the highest number of containers removed in a single day since the break up of the wreck . Investigation found the captain requested a break from planned journey to save time .
Captain , second was given seven months for offenses including operating a vessel in dangerous manner . At least 350 tons of fuel was to spilled into the sea when cargo ship Rena hot a reef off New Zealand . Massive salvage and clean - up operations along New Zealand coast are still underway . Investigation found the captain requested a break from planned journey to save time .