The 170-tonne steel wreck lies in 40 pieces at the base of Port Kembla's eastern breakwater after heavy seas tore it from its moorings a fortnight ago.

Port Kembla Port Corporation had instructed the company to remove the debris as soon as possible.

Oceanlinx's insurers had been seeking quotes on the costly salvage, which is expected to take at least a month.

The $5 million wave-to-energy plant was at the forefront of marine renewable energy technology, and the first of its kind in Australia to be connected to the electricity grid.

Its demise was a severe setback to Oceanlinx, which had been keen to prove the project was commercially viable.

As the salvage plan continues, those in engineering circles have privately expressed concern over the decision to locate the device just 150m from the stone break-wall.

One veteran engineer involved in the design of Sydney's Port Botany, who declined to be named, described the location as "ill-advised".

"You never, ever moor something at such close proximity to the breakwater because the waves are at its strongest just before it," he said.

Swinburne University engineering professor Alex Babanin expressed a similar view.

"If you anchor something big in front of (a breakwall) and it gets loose, it will hit something," he said.

"You don't have to be a port engineer to know that."

Oceanlinx spokesman Colin Parbery said the barge's location was chosen because it offered the "best wave climate area in Port Kembla harbour".

The location was signed off by the harbour master, he said.

A Port Kembla Ports Corporation spokeswoman said Oceanlinx had provided documents to support the project's engineering credentials.

"We were only concerned that it didn't get in the way of port infrastructure or shipping channels," she said.