Rena salvors have started cutting up internal sections of the bow and hope to start removing sections next week.
US salvage company Resolve has taken over the salvage contract for the wreck of the cargo ship, which ran on to the Astrolabe reef off Tauranga in October last year and broke in two during a storm in January.
The company has been quiet on its progress so far but says more details will be released next week.
A spokesman Steve Fisher told NZ Newswire preparatory work had begun on cutting up the internal bow sections with a view to removing scrap next week.
Meanwhile, the ship's insurers, The Swedish Club, says it is undertaking studies to determine whether the bow should be removed entirely or levelled to below the water line and to decide what to do from there.
Project head Captain John Owen said the studies - expected to take two months - would be shared with the community so an informed decision could be made.
They would look at environmental, cultural, safety, recreation, tourism and community health aspects.
Captain Owen, in a statement, said the "base case" was full wreck removal.
However, that was a heavy engineering operation which could damage the reef, seabed and marine life.
"It's never a simple task, and in this location it could be quite dangerous and will take a long time."
The stern section of the Rena is lying on a slope at a depth of up to 65 metres, while part of the ship's navigation bridge is only 10m below the surface.
Capt Owen said while the stern could be a dive attraction, it also presented some risks.
An operation to reduce the height of the bridge could damage the environment.
Complicating the situation was that conditions could change over many years, he said.
"The marine environment is dynamic, and things can change dramatically from year to year as marine life adapts to a structure that is itself changing."
NZN
