Storms in late May have moved the two halves of the wrecked containership Kea Trader further apart in the South Pacific.

Owner Lomar Shipping told TradeWinds that the forward section of the 2,194-teu vessel (built 2017) was shifted on the rock-hard Durand Reef off New Caledonia, leaving it listing by 18 degrees.

"Therefore safe access for workers to both sections is only possible during particularly favorable weather conditions," it said.