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1News
4 days ago
- General
- 1News
Poor seamanship, lack of proper charts led to Hauraki Gulf grounding
Poor seamanship and a failure to carry proper charts caused a Japanese fishing boat to hit rocks in the Hauraki Gulf last year, an investigation has found. About 3.40am on April 16, 2024, the Chokyu Maru No.68 was approaching Auckland when it struck The Noises, a group of islands about 25km northeast of the city. The ship sustained a small hole in its bow and damage to its propeller, but none of the 27 crew on board was injured and there was no oil leak or other environmental damage. The 48-metre vessel was refloated later that morning and towed to port for repairs. The grounding sparked an investigation by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC), which released its findings late last week. ADVERTISEMENT Acting chief investigator of accidents Louise Cooke said it was a "textbook example" of what could happen when the basics of good seamanship were ignored. "Basic seamanship is the core issue of this accident. Crew leaders must always plan the voyage, know the hazards, and verify position. This isn't optional, it's basic good seamanship and it's required all over the world," she said. The TAIC report found the Chokyu Maru No.68 had left Japan without large-scale paper charts —in particular a crucial chart showing the approaches to Auckland — or nautical publications setting out the safest route into Waitematā Harbour. The longliner also left Japan without a formal voyage plan. In the absence of detailed paper charts, the master relied on the chart plotter to determine the ship's position. However, electronic charts for New Zealand had not been installed, so the plotter did not display the small islands of the Hauraki Gulf. The TAIC investigation also found only one of the vessel's two radar units was in use at the time, because the crew believed the second unit was broken. ADVERTISEMENT It was in fact working, but the settings were unsuitable for identifying hazards. Without detailed charts or information about navigational risks, the master set a straight-line course to Auckland in the mistaken belief there was safe water all the way. The TAIC report stated it was "virtually certain" the crew would have identified the hazards and plotted a safe course, had they prepared a voyage plan in advance using proper charts and publications. The key lesson from the Chokyu Maru No.68 grounding was the "fundamental importance" of a well-researched and documented voyage plan. Since the accident, Cooke said Maritime NZ had taken steps to improve the safety of foreign-flagged fishing vessels in New Zealand waters. She said Maritime NZ inspectors now had better tools to identify and address safety issues, thanks to better access to world-wide data and the inclusion of fishing vessels in the international inspection regime. TAIC investigations aim to establish the cause of transport accidents and prevent similar incidents happening again. They do not seek to assign blame or lead to prosecution. ADVERTISEMENT
Scoop
18-06-2025
- Scoop
Charges Filed By Maritime NZ Against KiwiRail Following Investigation Into 2024 Ferry Grounding
Maritime NZ has filed two charges against KiwiRail after completing a comprehensive and wide-ranging investigation into the grounding of the Interislander ferry, Aratere last year. The Aratere grounded just north of Picton on 21 June last year, it had 47 people on-board at the time. Thankfully, all passengers and crew were safely returned to shore. The ferry was re-floated the following evening. Maritime NZ's Chief Executive, Kirstie Hewlett, says the two charges filed against KiwiRail under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 relate to failures by the operator to keep crew and passengers safe while on-board the ferry. 'This was a complex incident and important investigation given it focussed on KiwiRail bringing in new systems to older vessels and broader safety management. It required us to look at systems, policies and procedures, culture, within KiwiRail in relation to the incident. A significant number of interviews were conducted, as well as collating and reviewing a substantial amount of relevant documentation and evidence. 'The time taken to undertake this investigation, collate and review the evidence, and decide on compliance action is consistent with other complex and major incidents. As we have now filed charges in court, we cannot talk about what our investigation found,' Kirstie Hewlett says. Note: Charges: Charge 1: s48 charge - in that it had a duty as a PCBU, namely to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of those passengers and crew who would sail aboard the Aratere and that failure exposed crew members and passengers to the risk of death or serious injury. Maximum penalty $1.5m Charge 2: s49 charge under HSWA - in that it had a duty as a PCBU, failed to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of those passengers and crew who would sail aboard the Aratere. Maximum penalty: $500,000
Otago Daily Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
KiwiRail charged over Cook Strait ferry grounding
Photo: Supplied / Renee Horncastle Maritime NZ has filed two health and safety charges against KiwiRail over its grounding of the Interislander ferry Aratere nearly a year ago. On June 21, 2024, the ship grounded just north of Picton with 47 people on board. No-one was injured and the ship was refloated just under 24 hours later. A preliminary Transport Investigation Commission report found the event started with an autopilot mistake. Maritime NZ chief executive Kirstie Hewlett said the two charges filed under the Health and Safety at Work Act related to failures by KiwiRail to keep crew and passengers safe while on board. "This was a complex incident and important investigation given it focused on KiwiRail bringing in new systems to older vessels and broader safety management." Hewlett said Maritime NZ looked at systems, policies, procedures and culture within KiwiRail with regard to the grounding. Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy said due to the charges being before the courts they could not comment on them. Roy said since the grounding the Cook Strait ferry service had made improvements to its processes and systems to avoid a repeat of this issue. "We immediately undertook an internal investigation which resulted in nine recommendations - seven of those recommendations have been completed. "This includes a full review of training processes especially for critical equipment, and reviews of our contractor management and risk management procedures." He said since the breakdown Aratere had made more than 1100 crossings of Cook Strait, carrying over 133,000 passengers and 64,000 private and commercial vehicles.
Otago Daily Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
KiwiRail charged over Aratere ferry grounding
Photo: Supplied / Renee Horncastle Maritime NZ has filed two health and safety charges against KiwiRail over its grounding of the Interislander ferry Aratere nearly a year ago. On June 21, 2024, the ship grounded just north of Picton with 47 people on board. No-one was injured and the ship was refloated just under 24 hours later. A preliminary Transport Investigation Commission report found the event started with an autopilot mistake. Maritime NZ chief executive Kirstie Hewlett said the two charges filed under the Health and Safety at Work Act related to failures by KiwiRail to keep crew and passengers safe while on board. "This was a complex incident and important investigation given it focused on KiwiRail bringing in new systems to older vessels and broader safety management." Hewlett said Maritime NZ looked at systems, policies, procedures and culture within KiwiRail with regard to the grounding. Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy said due to the charges being before the courts they could not comment on them. Roy said since the grounding the Cook Strait ferry service had made improvements to its processes and systems to avoid a repeat of this issue. "We immediately undertook an internal investigation which resulted in nine recommendations - seven of those recommendations have been completed. "This includes a full review of training processes especially for critical equipment, and reviews of our contractor management and risk management procedures." He said since the breakdown Aratere had made more than 1100 crossings of Cook Strait, carrying over 133,000 passengers and 64,000 private and commercial vehicles.
RNZ News
18-06-2025
- RNZ News
Charges filed over Aratere grounding
transport law 13 minutes ago Maritime NZ has filed two health and safety charges against KiwiRail over its grounding of the Interislander ferry Aratere nearly a year ago.
