Kea Trader on the reef Photo: Lomar Shipping

The two halves of the grounded Lomar Shipping boxship Kea Trader have moved further apart off New Caledonia.

The owner said movement had been observed in the three weeks since the 2,194-teu vessel (built 2017) fractured vertically in storm-force seas following the grounding in July.

But the ship remains hard aground on the flat rock of Durand Reef.