Tag Archives: Maritime New Zealand
Wreck catches fire during salvage mission
The curse of the F/V Austro Carina continues. On September 24 last year, the 25-metre-long, 150-tonne fishing trawler hit rocks, tearing a hole in the hull, near Shell Bay, on the south-eastern side of of Banks Peninsula/Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū. Four crew members were winched to safety by helicopter as the vessel teetered on rocks, amid icy water, with cliffs looming above. On Tuesday of this week, the vessel’s bad run of luck continued, as it caught fire during the salvage operation. photos, more, >>click to read<< 09:44
Grounded Austro Carina boat leaks all its diesel into ocean at Red Bluff
Thousands of litres of diesel has leaked from a boat which ran aground on Banks Peninsula two weeks ago, says Canterbury Regional Council. Large swells had broken up the Austro Carina fishing boat at Red Bluff near Shell Bay. The council said 10,000 litres of diesel had slowly dispersed over the past week. It said up to 400 litres of hydraulic oil could also be leaking from the engine room, but crews could not reach it to check. Salvage teams had so far picked up 31 large bags of rubbish, debris and fish bins. Fishing nets had also been removed from the vessel, aside from some that were unable to be cut away from under the stern. The wreck had broken up significantly and had moved up the beach to the north. >>click to read<< 17:24
Grounded Austro Carina trawler at Banks Peninsula starting to break up, salvage could take months
The fishing boat that ran aground at Banks Peninsula carrying thousands of litres of diesel is breaking up, Canterbury Regional Council says. Heavy swells continue to make it difficult for crews to get to the Austro Carina, which ran aground near a marine reserve at Shell Bay’s Red Bluff on 24 September. The boat was carrying about 10,000 litres of diesel and 400 litres of hydraulic oil. The council warned it could take months to salvage the wreck, with the necessary equipment unavailable in New Zealand. Wild weather that battered Banks Peninsula earlier this week ripped a hole in the boat. >>click to read<< 09:50
Shell Bay, Banks Peninsula oil spill: Plan to remove boat in the works
The 25m Austro Carina, owned and operated by Lyttelton-based Pegasus Fishing Ltd, ran aground near picturesque Shell Bay on the southeastern side of the Banks Peninsula on Sunday, September 24. The 140-150 tonne boat is currently still stuck with the gaping hole at the bottom of a 100-metre, potentially unstable cliff. The unfortunate position of the boat means it cannot be reached, according to the regional council, Environment Canterbury (ECan). “Access to the vessel by water has been heavily restricted by heavy seas, the rugged shoreline, and poor weather over the last week,” Emma Parr, Regional On-Scene Commander for the Harbourmaster’s Office, said. Photos, >>click to read<< 09:43
Owner of grounded trawler working on salvage plan
The owner of a fuel-laden fishing trawler that is grounded off Banks Peninsula is working on a salvage plan for the stricken boat and has promised to help manage the environmental impact of any spills. Four crew members had to be winched to safety by helicopter when the 25m Austro Carina ran aground at Red Bluff near Shell Bay last Sunday night, carrying 10,000L of diesel and 400L of hydraulic oil. The boat’s owner Pegasus Fishing said it was working with authorities on the best approach to salvage the trawler. “We are happy to confirm media reports that all our crew are safe and well, although they are still understandably shaken from the events of Sunday night,” the statement said. >>click to read<< 08:07
Skipper in deep water again after Catlins sinking
A rogue Dunedin commercial fisherman who flouted maritime rules has, like his vessel, found himself in deep water. Wayne John Jolly, 58, appeared in the Dunedin District Court this week after admitting skippering a ship without appropriate documentation and was sentenced to 250 hours’ community work. The importance of complying with such protocols was resoundingly brought home to Jolly in March last year when his boat Aurora – a 15.6m wooden trawler built in Port Chalmers in 1958 – sank about a nautical mile off the coast of the Tautuku Peninsula, in the Catlins. Jolly’s history of non-compliance with maritime law stretched back 17 years. >click to read< 10:02
Trawler tanker fire; TAIC orders Talley’s to review its maintenance procedures
Languishing in the water off the West Coast, the boat had to be towed back to shore after suffering extensive heat and smoke damage despite a quick response from the crew to bring the blaze under control. Amaltal Enterprises crew were fishing near Hokitika on July 2, last year when the main engine was shut down to fix repairs to a low-pressure fuel pipe. About 50 minutes after being restarted, an accumulator installed in the engine unwound and dislodged from its pipe connector, spraying marine diesel “at 8 bar pressure to jet upwards” all over the hot engine exhaust, sparking the fire. >click to read< 08:03
A skipper named ‘Crazy Horse’, a ‘dicky’ autopilot and a sailing trip that foundered on a beach
After hours of sailing a 14m fishing vessel on “an extremely erratic” course up the coast towards Christchurch, doubling back and then turning around again to head in the same direction closer to the shore, skipper David “Crazy Horse” Atkinson was lost. It was 9pm, he was not sure where he was, and he only had rudimentary knowledge of how to use the boat’s navigational equipment. His crew aboard the trawler, the F/V Debbie Jane, consisted of a 41-year-old woman and a 73-year-old retired school teacher who was living with him – neither of whom had any commercial fishing experience. >click to read< 08:03
Trawler skipper who got lost off Christchurch admits safety breaches
Shortly before a trawler skipper lost his bearings in gathering darkness off the Christchurch coast, one of his crew had rolled him a cannabis joint. Maritime New Zealand’s summary of facts does not say whether the skipper, 67-year-old David Anderson, actually smoked the joint, but the trawler ran aground on Waimairi Beach a few hours later. The F/V Debbie Jane’s disastrous trip from Akaroa to Nelson in December 2019 was detailed in the Christchurch District Court, when Anderson admitted two charges. >click to read< 07:48
Fishing company loses bid to avoid paying $500k to dead men’s families
The Court of Appeal has thrown out a second bid by a fishing company to avoid paying half a million dollars in total to the families of three fishermen who drowned when their trawler sank. Terry Donald Booth, 55, of Nelson; Paul Russell Bennett, 35, of Motueka and Jared Reese Husband, 47, of Timaru died when the Jubilee, a 16 metre trawler, sank off the coast of Canterbury in the early hours of 18 October 2015. It is believed the crew were asleep in the wheelhouse when the trawler’s fish room began filling with water and there was no high water level alarm to alert them. >click to read< 08:14
‘I’ve been here all the time’
Elusive mariner David Atkinson has told a court he wasn’t hiding during the months he was out of contact with the justice system. However, he still has not spoken to his lawyer about charges laid by Maritime NZ over a trawler that grounded on a beach near Christchurch in 2019. Atkinson appeared on driving matters before Judge Russell Cooper in the Hastings District Court today. Discussion soon turned to an arrest warrant issued in the Christchurch District Court last month after it heard that Atkinson had been off the radar since September last year. >click to read< 07:58
Skipper of grounded fishing trawler hasn’t been heard from in months
Would trawlerman David Atkinson please come in? Your time is up. In fact, Christchurch District Court Judge Michael Crosbie is so convinced that your time is up, that he has issued a warrant for your arrest. That means the courts and the police would be keen to hear from you, and so would Maritime New Zealand which is bringing charges against you. And so would your lawyer, Michael Starling. Atkinson is facing charges following the grounding of a fishing trawler in Christchurch two years ago. >click to read< 08:03
Crewman admits leaving vessel’s bridge before collision
A fishing boat crewman who had left the bridge unattended when the vessel collided with a bulk carrier outside the Lyttelton Heads has admitted a charge under the Maritime Transport Act. Christopher Anderson, who had been employed by the fishing company for 12 years, admitted the charge of causing unnecessary danger or risk to the F/V Leila Jo fishing boat, and the bulk carrier, and the people on board, in the incident on January 12, 2020. >click to read< 08:53
Sanford fined for crew member’s ‘avoidable’ death
Sanford Limited has been fined $375,000 and ordered to pay $121,860 reparations and $35,000 costs to the family of a crew member who died on one of its fishing vessels,,, Steffan Antony Stewart, 26, of New Plymouth, died after becoming entangled in machinery on the factory fishing vessel, San Granit, on November 14, 2018. Stewart had entered part of an automated freezer system to clear a blockage. When the system activated he became caught and was fatally injured by moving parts of the system. “The factory supervisor checked workers every hour. However, the factory supervisor on Mr Stewart’s shift was unfamiliar with the automated freezer system and therefore limited in their ability to monitor and provide the supervision necessary to help keep workers safe. >click to read< 08:39
High Court backs $500,000 award for emotional harm to FV Jubilee sinking victims
The High Court has thrown out an insurance company challenge to $505,000 granted to the families of three fishermen who drowned when their trawler sank. FV Jubilee sank about 22 kilometres from the Rakaia River mouth in the early hours of October 18, 2015, killing Terry Donald Booth, 55, of the Nelson area; Paul Russell Bennett, 35, of Motueka; and Jared Reese Husband, 47, of Timaru. Lyttelton-based Ocean Fisheries, owned by the Stark family, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the Jubilee crew’s safety as the installation of high water level alarms would likely have prevented the sinking and crew deaths. >click to read< 21:55
New Zealand: Reparation sought for family of man who died on Sanford factory trawler
New Plymouth man Steffan Antony Stewart, 26, was discovered fatally injured on the factory deck of the San Granit on November 14, 2018, after becoming trapped in a piece of machinery aboard the New Zealand-registered deep-sea factory trawler. The deckhand immediately raised the alarm, but after Stewart was removed from the accumulator the ship’s medic found no signs of life. The 67-metre vessel, which had been trawling 102 kilometres east of Banks Peninsula, immediately returned to Timaru’s port, arriving about 4pm that day. Representatives of Maritime New Zealand and Sanford appeared before Judge Tony Couch in the Timaru District Court on Thursday. >click to read< 09:25
Beached fishing trawler Remus refloated, making way to Nelson
The New Zealand-flagged trawler Remus ran aground at Big Bay, 40km north of Milford Sound, about 10am on Thursday. Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand was alerted but no distress call was made, and no search and rescue action was taken. There were no reports of injuries to the four crew members on board. The first attempt at refloating it yesterday was unsuccessful. But around 1am on Monday, they managed to get the heavy, steel constructed trawler refloated. >click to read < 07:14
FV Jubilee tragedy: Canterbury trawler operators prosecuted under health and safety laws
The operators of a trawler that sank off the Canterbury coast with the loss of all three fishermen aboard have today have been ordered to pay surviving family members more than $700,000. The 90-tonne, 16m fishing vessel Jubilee sank after sending a distress signal in the early hours of October 18, 2015. All three vastly experienced fishermen on board – Jared Reese Husband, 47, of Timaru, skipper Paul Russell Bennett, 35, of Motueka, and 55-year-old Terry Donald Booth, also from the Nelson region were lost at sea. >click to read< 08:36
One in four crew members injured on fishing boats
A Neilsen survey commissioned by Maritime New Zealand and WorkSafe found 28 percent of crew members – or more than one in four workers – have suffered a significant injury while a further 26 percent have experienced a near-miss. Most of the injuries were to hands, lower back and the spine, but the outcome of a mishap at sea could be much worse. Since 2010, 25 crew members have died and the families of nine of those lost at sea did not have the comfort of bringing a body home. The Accident Compensation Corporation has had an average 966 active commercial fishing claims over the past five years and in 2016 it received 633 new claims, which have grown on average 3 percent a year since 2009. Last year ACC paid out $5.1 million in the wider commercial fishing bracket, slightly down on the average over the last six years of $5.7 million. click here to read the article 11:01
Fishing safety campaign launched in New Zealand
On June 1st, Maritime New Zealand and the NZ Federation of Commercial Fishermen launch a safety campaign, at the Federation’s annual conference, aimed at commercial fishing boat crews and operators. The “Safe Crews Fish More” aims to establish a natural collaboration across the industry. Maritime NZ General Manager Maritime Standards, Sharyn Forsyth, said more than one in four fishing crew are injured every year (28% according to a study by research company, Neilsen, commissioned by WorkSafe and Maritime NZ). ACC statistics show most injuries are to hands, lower back, and spine. The campaign will initially run for a year, focusing two months at a time on the six risk areas: fatigue, manual handling, safety on deck, winches, uncovered machinery, and intoxication. click here to read the story 11:52
Lady Sarah captain ‘pretty gutted’ after boat runs aground near Lake Ellesmere
The captain of a fishing vessel that ran aground near Lake Ellesmere is “pretty gutted”. The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) received a distress call from aboard the Lady Sarah about 2am, Thursday, Maritime New Zealand spokesman said. It is understood the 22 metre vessel was trawling for elephant fish off the Eastern coast. “Three people were on board, they were evacuated and are now safe and well.” Captain Chris Jarman told Stuff he was “pretty gutted and shaken up”. “Myself and my two crew, no injuries and we got on land perfectly fine, that’s the main thing, everyone is safe.” Read the story here 18:55
Drug tests for fishing boat crew members
Some fishing boat crew members will have to be drug and alcohol tested under proposed law changes. Transport Minister Simon Bridges has introduced the bill and says it means commercial maritime operators must have drug and alcohol management plans that include random testing for crew members carrying out “sensitive activities”. Maritime New Zealand will oversee the management plans and will have the power to do its own testing if it needs to. “Many commercial maritime operators already have a drug and alcohol management plan,” Mr Bridges said on Thursday. “Making this a legal requirement will help ensure crews are consistently well protected.” link 13:24
Barry “Baz” Kirk didn’t take to school life but when he went fishing, a new world opened before him.
TAKING in the sight of an engine room awash does wonders for your awareness of safety at sea. Barry “Baz” Kirk was 17 when it happened to him. “We were between Portland Island and Table Cape, on a big old ex-Scottish trawler called the Golden Grain,” he said. “I’d gone to bed and the skipper, Bruce Cordiner, had taken the boat. When I woke up I went upstairs to see where we were, and Bruce said we were sinking. I thought he was joking until he told me to go down to the engine room, and I saw the bilge was full of water!” That incident 35 years ago resonates with Baz’s later work with Coastguard and Maritime New Zealand. Read the article here 12:31
