Wellington Ferry company fined $380K for grounding on rocks, excessive speed

A Wellington passenger ferry has been fined for failing to ensure the safety of passengers and crew after it grounded on rocks near Karaka Bay in April 2017.

The City Cat, East by West Company limited, was sentenced in Wellington's District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to two charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA). The company was fined $380,000 after an investigation found the company's vessels had breached Maritime Rules regularly exceeding safe speeds close to shore.

On April 16, 2017, the City Cat was travelling at 17 knots in a 5 knot area close to the rocky shoreline about 10.45am.

It grounded on a rock at Karaka Bay which caused significant damage to the vessel and minor injuries to passengers who were jolted off their seats.

The investigation found speeding by the company continued after the grounding, from 17 April 2017 to 12 April 2018.

East by West Company Limited received fines of $280,000 for the grounding and $100,000 for travelling at excessive speeds close to land.

The company's duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act required it to ensure so far as reasonably practicable the health and safety of workers and others who could be affected by its work – including passengers and other sea-users.
 
Maritime NZ Central Region Compliance Manager Michael-Paul Abbott said that Maritime NZ is focused on ensuring that ships are operated safely and without risks to people's health.

Both the grounding and the repeated speeding were serious matters that could have resulted in adverse outcomes, he said.

"It was fortunate that no one was badly hurt."

East by West Ltd said in a statement it had co-operated fully with Maritime throughout their investigation, but was disappointed that the organisation sought to charge the company.

"The Company has been safely operating on Wellington Harbour for over 30 years and has completed over 400,000 crossings without a similar incident," the statement said.

"As a consequence of this review East by West have made substantial changes to their oversight of the operations of the vessels and have put in place robust procedures to monitor the speed of the vessels and their proximity to shore. They have also implemented changes to their daily operating procedures to ensure the safety of passengers and crew, and other water users." 

The skipper of the City Cat, plead guilty to a charge under section 65 of the Maritime Transport Act for operating a ship in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk to other persons in relation to the grounding. The skipper, who was stood down during the company carried out it's own investigation, was convicted and fined $1688 in November 2018.