Car-ferry boss comes clean

The Spirit of Waiheke being painted while beached on Ocean Beach, Motuihe Island.

Photographic proof that Motuihe Island was being used as a free shipyard has brought promises from a repentant ferry operator never to do it again.

Waiheke Shipping company owner Brett Subritzky had denied to the Herald that he or his crew had done anti-fouling or repainting work on a 40m-long barge parked on the sandy beach on the island's northern side.

But yesterday, told that the Herald had been sent photos of someone painting a Waiheke Shipping vessel while it was up on the sand at Ocean Beach, Mr Subritzky expressed remorse.

After a meeting with the Department of Conservation, his company would be working to improve environmental and biosecurity standards, he said.

"I made a mistake and I have put my hand up."

DoC Auckland area manager Beau Fraser made it clear the department reminded Mr Subritzky that it regularly used Waiheke Shipping for ferrying trucks and fuel supplies around the Hauraki Gulf.

"It's on the line. Let's not dodge the issue, his behaviour in the gulf had to change," he said. "We are a big user of his services and he recognised that as well."

The Auckland Regional Council this week threatened Mr Subritzky with legal action if he did not stop parking a vessel on Ocean Beach to do maintenance work.

Motuihe Island is undergoing a multimillion-dollar transformation from a boating and recreational reserve to a bush and wildlife sanctuary, free of pests such as rats and rabbits.

The Motuihe Island Trust hopes it will become an open sanctuary along the lines of Tiritiri Matangi, and be a haven for kiwi.