A 15-tonne digger lost beneath the waves 10 years ago has been located by sonar scans from ships searching for containers from the Rena.
Mount Maunganui Underwater Club member Chris Munday said club members have been searching for the digger ever since it slipped of a ship while enroute from the mainland to Motiti Island.
The digger is sitting upright in shallow water about 1.5km off the coast.
After 10 years underwater, it is encrusted with coral and barnacles. Mr Munday said crayfish have set up home inside the drivers' cab.
