Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) Limited is 92% foreign owned. Permits covering 9,300 sq km of seabed in two permit areas of the west coast.
Marine Consent lodged with Environmental Protection Authority to cover an area of 65.76 km2 within EEZ and will start from only 12 nautical miles of the coast of Hawera and Patea.
Excavation of up 50 million tonnes per year, 45 million tonnes (90 %) discharged to sea for just 5 million tonnes for iron ore that will be directly exported offshore.
TTR’s total operation is undertaken by large ships parked offshore. All the ships run on thick crude toxic heavy fuel. The FPSO is a large ship of approximately 180,000 tonne and has the capacity for 35,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and the FSO will hold up to 20,000 tonnes. The huge ocean bulk ore carrier holds much heavier fuel oil along with an ocean tanker refuelling ship.
The MV Rena grounded on the Astrolabe Reef in Tauranga and was carrying 1,700 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and 200 tonnes of marine diesel oil only and pales into insignificance with the heavy fuel holding capacity of the FPSO and FSO vessels. The MV Rena spill has been described as New Zealand’s worst maritime environmental disaster.
TTR acknowledges impacts to commercial fisheries in the local area and acknowledges that suction open cast strip mining will kill all life-forms taken from the seafloor.TTR is intending to abandon the sites without any mitigation or restoration. If granted, TTR will set a precedent to exploit their remaining permits and pave the way for other permit holders.
We have only got till 5pm 19th December NZ time before submissions close.
Make a quick submission using Kasm link.