Locals near Coromandel Peninsula have been left distressed after a salvage crew took apart a sunken boat along a popular beach, sending bits of debris along the sand and back into the water.
It comes after a 50-foot launch sunk after hitting rocks near Motukorure Island, in Mercury Bay, on October 5.
A salvage company had attempted to refloat the boat to transport it to the marina in Whitianga, but were unsuccessful as "the bow and stern were already starting to break up", Thames-Coromandel District Council said in a statement on Monday.
"The only option was towing the boat to the nearest point where trucks and a digger could access the shore to dispose of it, which was Cooks Beach.
"This meant that more than 1000 litres of diesel on board could be safely pumped out instead of spilling into the sensitive marine environment."
The council said leaving the boat where it sank, or allowing the salvors to continue their attempt to transport the vessel, meant it "would soon have broken up, bits would have washed ashore across Mercury Bay, and the fuel tanks and engine could have caused a risk to the environment".
"The remaining pieces of the boat were removed on Friday and Saturday and the salvage company is returning to the beach daily after high tide to remove remaining small bits of debris that wash up."
The council thanked Cooks Beach residents who have helped with the clean-up effort, "whether it's from the boat or other sources".
But some locals who helped remove debris from the beach were left baffled by the decision-making process.
Resident Pauline Stewart told Stuff the dismantling effort was not only harmful to the environment, but could potentially injure beachgoers, calling it "thoughtless".
"This shouldn't have happened how it did."
Another said on social media that the site "needs to be dug up again and sifted".
"The more we have dug deeper the more we have found. Little hands of children digging around in the sand are going to get hurt. Not to mention digging dogs."
The council last week acknowledged the community's concern around the operation to dismantle the vessel.
"We want to reassure the community that salvors have given an undertaking that all debris will be removed," the council said in an earlier statement.
"Absorbent pads have been deployed to soak up remnants of lube oil and a boom is positioned at the back of the vessel to capture any potential discharges."
Salvors and snorkelers will continue to search for and remove debris along the beach and seabed "for another week or so", it said. Parks and Reserves maintenance contractor Recreational Services have also helped collect debris in recent days.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Waikato Regional Council told 1News that "while dismantling the vessel on Cooks Beach wasn't ideal", the extensive damage to the bow and stern meant towing the vessel to the nearest point was necessary.
The spokesperson added that moving the boat further up the beach before it was demolished "was also not an option" as it "would have broken up, spreading debris over a much greater distance".
"It would likely have had a greater environmental impact had it broken up in the channel on the way to Whitianga marina – debris would have washed ashore across Mercury Bay and diesel would have spilled from the fuel tanks.
"Instead, the engine, fuel tanks, the majority of the vessel and more than 1000 litres of diesel was able to be safely taken away."
Maritime New Zealand is investigating the circumstances behind the incident.
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