The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft
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MARITIME NZ INCIDENT REPORTS The summaries in the following text are as reported by the person advising Maritime New Zealand of the accident or incident in question and may not necessarily be in accord with the findings of Maritime New Zealand following subsequent investigation. Appropriate care should be taken when interpreting the relevant text. Maritime New Zealand accepts no liability for the accuracy or otherwise of information provided to it by any party involved in any incident reported below or any third party providing such information. This report only includes those accidents reported before that date. For that reason this report does not necessarily include all reported accidents for the month and is not suitable for statistical or analytical purposes. Noeline, fishing vessel, 14.05m October 4, Port Taranaki, foundered A member of the public informed New Plymouth Harbour Radio that a vessel was looking "low in the water" in the swing mooring area. The watchman contacted the owner, who was aware and en route. The watchhouse camera was trained on the vessel just as she went below the surface. The watchman contacted the duty pilot to inform him of the situation. Rena, container ship, 235m October 5, Astrolabe Reef, Grounding/flooding The Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef, Tauranga. Early reports are that she was listing and two of her cargo holds were flooded. An oil sheen has been detected around the ship. Delphinius, tourist vessel, 12.3m October 5, Motuara Island, propulsion failure The vessel was on a scheduled trip from Picton to Motuara Island. On departing the island was increasing the revs to 2100rpm for normal cruising speed when the starboard hot water temperature alarm sounded. Reduced revs, alarm continued so shut the motor down and informed the crew, work base and passengers. Docked at Ship Cove Wharf and passengers disembarked. Checked water pump impeller and found it was shredded. Replaced with new impeller, ran motor up. Passengers reboarded and vessel returned to Picton at reduced revs. Southern Isle, passenger ferry, 16.45m October 5, Ruggedy Islands, grounding Swell making up low tide when the ferry went through a small passage the skipper has been through before. At the bottom of the swell the vessel hit a rock while doing 11-12 knots. The keel was holed. Serenity, charter vessel, 7m October 6, Lake Wakatipu, propulsion failure The Serenity was on charter with two persons when the engine came to a stop. The fuel gauge showed half full so the skipper tried priming the fuel bulb, but no fuel came through. The Raycor filter was found to be empty. The skipper called the owner, who brought extra fuel and the clients boarded the owner's vessel. The Raycor was removed and the rubber seal was found to have popped out, causing an air lock in the fuel system. The Raycor was filled with fuel and refitted. The engine was restarted and the clients reboarded the Serenity. She returned to Queenstown. Aratere, passenger/vehicular ferry, 183m October 7, 1 mile north of Halswell Point, propulsion failure The starboard propulsion motor control tripped a fuse while at full speed, resulting in no bridge control of that motor. Over-voltage caused the port propulsion motor to shutdown. The ferry steered away from danger and stopped using round turn at the harbour explosives anchorage. The engineroom control was achieved on the starboard motor and the port motor was restarted from bridge control. The Aratere berthed at the Rail Ferry Terminal under her own power but had one tug stand by. Ikatere, research vessel, 13.9m October 8, Mana Marina, propulsion failure As the Ikatere departed from the fuel berth, alarms on the control panel sounded and the engine revs reduced to idle. The jet units automatically went to neutral. The skipper had no control of the engines or jets on the flybridge or the lower control station. Both engines were shut down and the anchor dropped. The skipper went out on the aft deck and heard loud arcing noises coming from the starboard engineroom and smelt smoke. The fuel and battery isolator to the engineroom were shut down and the arcing stopped. The skipper found the starter had overheated and started the arcing. This had tripped to the main fuse in ECM. The vessel returned to the berth on the port engine. The starter was later found to have a 12 volt relay switch instead of 24 volts. Dreamweaver, charter vessel, 17m October 8, Devonport, fire A burning smell was traced to the dishwasher. It was found to be on fire, extinguished with dry powder. Fire Service called as a precaution and the firemen removed the dishwasher from the vessel. Superflyte, passenger ferry, 41m October 9, Auckland waterfront, person overboard An English rugby player jumped from the Superflyte as she was arriving in Auckland from Waiheke Island. He was uninjured and warned by the Police for the offence of disorderly behaviour. He was also fined £3000 in a disciplinary action. Cygnet II, passenger vessel, 10.75m Happy VII, recreational launch, 14.3m October 9, Rangitoto Channel, near miss/close quarters The two vessels were involved in a near-miss incident. K-Jet 9, tourist jetboat, 7m October 11, Lake Wakatipu, propulsion failure The K-Jet 9 left Queenstown Bay with 10 passengers on board. As they were driving down Frankton Arm the starboard engine shut down. The driver radioed the workshop and two staff took K-Jet 10 to the location, where the passengers were transferred and their trip continued. K-Jet 9's starboard engine coil lead was found to have come off. The lead was re-attached and K-Jet 9 was driven back to the workshop. Bay Belle II, passenger ferry, 15.95m October 12, Paihia ferry terminal, contact While reversing away from the pontoon, the stern got caught by a wind gust and swung towards another stationary vessel on the opposite pontoon at the berth. To avoid contacting the vessel the skipper gave some power ahead to clear her and in the tight confines of the area the bow of the Bay Belle II went under the structural gangway to the pontoon, denting the top handrail onboard. No-one was hurt. Aratere, passenger/vehicular ferry, 183m October 12, RFT2 Wellington, near miss/close quarters A 10-minute call was made prior to the ferry's departure. No mention was made of the departure of the Pataki from Aotea Quay. Lookout on the bridge of the Aratere reported all clear on starboard side. No call heard from the Pataki. The Aratere left her berth then swung to port. The Pataki had already left when the mate on the stern of the Aratere reported the Pataki was close on the starboard quarter. K-Jet 8, tourist jetboat, 6.5m October 15, Shotover and Kawarau Rivers, grounding On entering the Shotover at 1030 the boat hit a sand bar and stopped. The driver called the workshop for assistance. The boat was dislodged from the sand bar and the trip continued. K-Jet 8, tourist jetboat, 6.5m October 15, Shotover River, grounding The boat ran aground while coming down the Shotover at 1330. The driver called the workshop for assistance. The passengers transferred into the K-Jet 10 and continued their trip while the K-Jet 8 was dislodged. Awanuia, cargo ship, 79.9m October 15, Astrolabe Reef, dragged anchor The ship was recovering the anchor flukes while in the emergency exclusion zone. They were found to be bent in opposite directions each about 150mm from true line. On returning to port the anchor was inspected and was unable to function effectively. Milford Sovereign, tourism vessel, 40m October 18, Stirling Falls, Milford Sound, contact The Milford Sovereign had completed her approach to Stirling Falls and was backing away into clear water when she was struck by a gale-force gust on the port side. The wind reduced visibility markedly by spreading waterfall spray onto the vessel and through the general area. The Milford Sovereign contacted a rock outcropping on her starboard side close to the stem, before safely regaining open water. Damage was superficial. Kea, passenger ferry, 27.1m Harbour Cat, passenger ferry, 20m October 20, Ferry Basin, Auckland, collision The Kea was departing Auckland when she drifted to port on the tide. The skipper rotated the port unit anti-clockwise to straighten her but she carried on to a starboard path, which the skipper could not correct. The vessel was on a collision course with the Harbour Cat, which was berthed at Queens Wharf. The starboard unit was on idle and the skipper rotated the unit anti- clockwise 160 degrees. The HRP unit was still turning as the brake was applied. The Kea collided with the Harbour Cat and the piles at Queens Wharf. Lady Bowen, tourist vessel, 21m October 21, Fresh Water Basin, Milford Sound, collision Harbour control had cleared the vessel to enter the basin and she followed the Milford Pilot in and headed for berth 8A. As the skipper lined up the approach he found he was drifting to port. The skipper of the Lady Bowen then realised the pilot boat had her engines in gear so he took evasive action, but her stern hit the bow of the Mitre Peak II. Damage to both vessels was superficial with small dents and chipped paint. LPC Rescue, pilot boat, 15.5m October 21, Tug Wharf, Lyttelton, fire The skipper was leaving the vessel after closing her up when he noticed smoke coming from the engineroom vents. He immediately investigated and discovered a fire around the port engine turbocharger. Attempts were made to extinguish the fire but were unsuccessful as the fire kept reigniting. The Fire Service attended and extinguished the fire. K-Jet 10, tourist jetboat, 6.5m October 22, Lower Shotover River, grounding The K-Jet 10 was travelling downstream when it contacted a submerged sandbar in shallow water and ran aground. The workshop was called for assistance. The passengers were transferred to another vessel and continued the trip. The K-Jet 10 was recovered and taken back to the workshop. Dolphin Explorer, tourist boat, 19.95m October 24, Hauraki Gulf, propulsion failure The vessel was three miles north of Tiritiri Matangi Island when the gearbox on the port engine lost oil and it was shut down. Emergency steering was engaged and she returned to Viaduct Harbour on the starboard main engine. The problem was a cracked bracket holding the O-ring seal. Milford Sovereign, tourist vessel, 40m October 25, Milford Sound, equipment failure The master noticed the vessel was not handling normally, with unusual vibrations and small movements related to her response to the helm. She was still under control and at no point did he consider there was a significant safety risk. Engineers discovered the entire starboard rudder assembly was missing due to the total failure of a flange weld. The Milford Sovereign was removed from service while a new rudder assembly was built. K-Jet 8, tourist jetboat, 6.5m October 26, Tuckers Beach, Shotover River, equipment failure The K-Jet 8 was sitting in the flow at Tucker Beach during a standard trip. After a couple of minutes the engine lost revs then shut off. The driver could not March/April 2012 Professional Skipper 77