Professional Skipper Magazine from VIP Publications

M AR I TI M E NEW ZEAL A N D RESCUES HIGHLIGHT VALUE OF BEACONS The rescue of eight trampers in four separate incidents in two days in January highlights the value of personal locator beacons. Three people were rescued from beside the Wanganui River near Harihari on the West Coast after being stranded by flood waters. They activated their personal locator beacon at 4pm and Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand dispatched the Westpac rescue helicopter from Christchurch to pick up the party. Two of the party were suffering from frostbite and the third from suspected hyperthermia, and had managed to reach Hunter���s Hut at the confluence of the Wanganui and Adams rivers. They were flown to Hokitika hospital at around 5.30pm. A solo woman tramper with a ruptured Achilles tendon tramping the Wangapeka Track on the Karamea River, activated her beacon just before 5pm on the same day and was picked up by the Nelson rescue helicopter at 6.45pm and taken to Nelson hospital. She was the fifth person rescued after activating a beacon on the Wangapeka Track. A party of three and a solo tramper were also rescued from the track after activating their own beacons. ���These incidents really show the value of personal locator beacons,��� RCCNZ search and rescue coordinator Chris Henshaw said. ���Without beacons, these people would have been waiting a long time in uncomfortable conditions to be rescued.��� PROPER PREPARATION THE KEY Maritime New Zealand is urging all boaties, not just those in larger vessels, to be mindful of safe boating practices following the fruitless search for a 72-year-old man off the Wairarapa coastline in January. The Martinborough man went out in stormy conditions to set a crayfish pot but never returned. His two to three metre inflatable boat was found off the Wairarapa coast after a search of thousands of square kilometres by an RNZAF P3 Orion and a search of Sandy Bay by the Police Dive Squad. Maritime Officer Alistair Thomson says the incident shows how quickly things can go wrong, ���Small inflatables like this one are especially vulnerable in windy conditions. I can���t emphasise enough the importance of being prepared ��� checking the marine forecast, wearing a lifejacket, and having a means of communicating distress. A search was only initiated after a passer-by reported the man���s vehicle and trailer on the shore, over nine hours after he set out. The sooner rescue staff know someone could be in trouble, the sooner help can be on the scene.��� In another recent incident, four men were rescued from the sea off the Taieri River mouth, south of Dunedin, after their boat sank rapidly. They were able to broadcast a Mayday call on VHF Channel 16, before abandoning ship. The men were airlifted to a waiting ambulance, where they were checked over by paramedics. ���These guys did all the right things. They were able to let authorities know they were in trouble, all had lifejackets, and once in the water, they huddled together to prevent hypothermia and to make it easier for rescuers to locate them,��� said Alistair. Neville Blakemore said the search could be reactivated if new information came to hand. While the submerged hull of a vessel was recovered, no sign of the crew was found. The RNZAF P3 Orion and French Navy Guardian aircraft searched around 4800 square kilometres, and the Samoan Police launch searched by sea. RCCNZ Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator Kevin Banaghan said, ���Both air crews have done an outstanding job in difficult conditions, with debris floating on the ocean making searching very challenging.��� FINES FOR FISH UNLOADING ACCIDENT Fishing company Sanford and fish processing company Pelco NZ have each been fined and ordered to pay a total of $10,000 in reparation after pleading guilty to charges under the Health and Safety in Employment Act, following a serious hand injury to a Pelco employee working on board a Sanford vessel in December 2011. Sanford was fined $32,500 in the Tauranga District Court on January 22, 2013, and ordered to pay $5000 in reparation to the victim, and Pelco was fined $22,500 and also ordered to pay reparation of $5000 to the 22-year-old female employee who sustained serious injuries to her hand while unloading tuna from the Ocean Breeze at Mt Maunganui Wharf in December 2011. Maritime NZ prosecuted both companies for failing to take all practical steps to ensure the safety of people working on the job. Maritime NZ Manager Intelligence and Planning Paul Fantham said the prosecution highlighted the importance of ensuring workplace safety on ships. ���We welcome the guilty pleas which are an acknowledgement that processes should have been better.��� EELY PUBLICATION FR RTER QUA The search for 10 fishermen and their four boats missing off Samoa following Cyclone Evan, was suspended on December 18, 2012. A RNZAF P3 Orion and a French Navy Guardian aircraft searched for three days but failed to find any sign of the men. After consultation with Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand, the Samoa Police Superintendent scaled down the search for the men but RCCNZ Search and Rescue Coordinator VIP.S S84 SEARCH FOR 10 SAMOAN FISHERMEN CALLED OFF ISSUE 17 JUNE 2010 s & up dates ISSUE 18 SEPTE MBER TY BULLETIN No anchor watch itchboa results in deaths TIN rd ational safety and manag e at an approp ol and ined while rifting pt rew sle riate ention of owners f this mainte to ensure nance, the enance for 2010 CRIBE SUBS OW! N res ur sho und o nd aro in a ! from KOUT ORIES LOO AL ST ibe to email RE scr .nz, z.govt To sub or online, itimen t in prin tions@mar 22 or visit a out public 508 22 55 ovt.nz/look one 0 itimenz.g ph ar www.m Are you ready? Be prepared for an emergency look? the out ther What���s on the wea eye Keep an March/April 2013 Professional Skipper 55

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