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MARITIME NEW ZEALAND SKIPPER PRAISED AFTER TOREA STRIKES A ROCK The 68ft (20.8m) fishing/passenger vessel Torea, with 26 persons on board including three crew, struck a rock off Green Island, two nm east of Ruapuke Island in Foveaux Strait on August 24 and began taking on water. Skipper Peter Leask, successfully steered for Ruapuke Island about four kilometres away while all on board donned lifejackets. By the time he ground the vessel 15m offshore on Ruapuke Island in soft sand, the fo'cs'le was full of water to a depth of about two metres. All on board disembarked without incident. A rescue was launched at 12.35pm with initial response provided by two Coastguard vessels from Bluff and Riverton, and three winch-capable helicopters: two from Dunedin and one from Te Anau. Five fishing vessels in the area were also en-route to provide assistance. The Bluff Coastguard vessel Takitimu II ferried passengers and crew from the Torea back to Bluff. There were no reports of injuries. Bluff Coastguard president Andy Johnson praised the skipper for his handling of the situation: "There are many uncharted rocks throughout Foveaux Strait." Johnson was also pleased with the end result that there were no deaths or injuries, "After the last couple of incidents we've had (in Foveaux Strait), it's really nice to have such a positive one." The Torea, named for the oystercatcher, is Bluff's oldest oyster dredge. The 45 ton vessel was built in 1940 in Auckland for Stewart Island Canneries Ltd, Invercargill, at Seagar Bros and/or Senior Foundry for the steel, and Shipbuilders Ltd for the woodwork. She has been kept in good condition and spent her life fishing for cod and oysters. No oil leaked from the vessel. It was refloated and back in Bluff five days later on August 29, ready for assessors. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission and Maritime NZ are making preliminary inquiries. MARITIME NZ FEES – HAVE YOUR SAY! Can you can let us know what you think about proposed changes to Maritime New Zealand fees and levies? Public feedback closes on November 19, 2012. Papers outlining the proposals are available at maritimenz.govt.nz/consultation or on request from Maritime New Zealand. You can make submissions on the Maritime New Zealand website, via email (fundingreview@maritimenz.govt.nz), or by mail to Maritime New Zealand. You can also send questions to that address. Questions, answers, and submissions will be put on the website from time to time. A 2010 value for money review found the organisation does deliver value for money, although there are opportunities for improvement. Thanks to the funding review, the organisation now has a more detailed and accurate picture of how much each function costs and which groups benefit. Maritime NZ has reviewed: • the work it needs to do to meet its regulatory responsibilities • the cost of its current functions • the efficiency gains achievable • the funding required to deliver the required functions over the next three years. The perspectives of maritime sector representatives in the review process have made a valuable contribution to the review. The review also takes into account the contribution of the maritime sector to New Zealand's economic growth and the international context in which New Zealand's maritime and marine protection safety regulations are made. After submissions are analysed and any changes made as a result of those submissions Maritime NZ will finalise its recommendations to government for changes to fees and the levy. Following Ministerial and Cabinet consideration, any changes that are agreed will be given effect by amendments to regulations made under the Maritime Transport Act. Maritime NZ will undertake a further review of fee and levy rates within three years of new regulations coming into force, or earlier, if the tracking of costs suggests that this is needed. QOL RULES CONSULTATION DELAYED Consultation on the maritime rules putting into effect the Qualifications and Operational Limits framework has been unavoidably delayed and is now planned to run from late October 2012 through November 2012. Invitation to comment, draft advisory circulars and other information available on Maritime New Zealand's website (maritimenz.govt.nz) The framework was developed with extensive industry input and published on Maritime New Zealand's website last year. Rule Parts 20 (Operating Limits) and 32 (Ships' Personnel – Qualifications) have been revised to give effect to the framework, and Maritime New Zealand welcomes feedback on whether the revised rules deliver on the policy. Rule Part 31 a, b, and c have also been updated to reflect the impact of changes to RPs 20 and 32 have on crewing and watchkeeping requirements, and this will also form part of the consultation. An Invitation to Comment, draft advisory circulars and other information will be available on Maritime New Zealand's website (maritimenz.govt.nz), along with an online submission form. CORRECTION In last month's article about the competency framework being developed by Maritime New Zealand (Competency, Licences and Qualifications, p66, Sept-Oct Professional Skipper), a comment was attributed to John Mansell that: "The package for SRL [Skipper restricted limits] …includes…no particular requirement for candidates to attend an approved training course." This is incorrect. The package for SRL will include a taskbook, onboard assessment, oral examination and, an approved training course to cover some of the theoretical knowledge required for the certificate. November/December 2012 Professional Skipper 61