Council defies Jody grounding report

The Gisborne District Council continues to deny liability for the grounding of the log carrier Jody F Millennium last year, despite a report criticising local port services.

The Gisborne Port Company, Adsteam Port Services, harbour pilot Robert Sands, Jody F Millennium captain Joe Dong Seok and Gisborne District Council all came in for criticism in the Maritime Safety Authority's report.

The Jody F Millennium, with 20,000 tonnes of pine logs aboard, stranded in the early hours of February 6 and remained stuck off Gisborne's coast for 18 days with tonnes of oil leaking on to Waikanae Beach.

Aspects of the port operation were strongly criticised.

The report said Captain Sands should be severely censured for dereliction of duty. The ship's master should be censured for failing to adequately discharge his duties.

The Jody's owners are suing the former port company and Gisborne District Council over the vessel's grounding.

The council's chief executive, Bob Elliott, said yesterday that it welcomed the report.

"Gisborne District Council is denying liability in regard to a claim for damages by the owners of the Jody F Millennium and will actively defend the interests of ratepayers and the council's reputation.

"The findings of this report support and build on the work we are already undertaking. We want to work closely with the MSA [Maritime Safety Authority] to ensure our standards are the best they can be."

Mr Elliott said the council had been working with the port over the past year on procedures and appropriate support for the harbourmaster.

The report said the Jody F Millennium was battered by strong winds and surging seas in port.

Port workers were trying to lash the ship to the wharf, but fears for their safety and the possibility of damage to the wharf and ultimately the ship led the pilot to send the Jody F Millennium into the harbour, the report said.

However, he dispatched the vessel into a harbour of an uncertain depth.

"PGL [Port Gisborne Ltd] failed to dredge and undertake hydrographic surveys to ensure the advertised depths were maintained. As a result of these failures, Port Gisborne Ltd continued to disseminate unsubstantiated and potentially inaccurate controlling depths for the port," the report said.

It added that the MSA was surprised no hydrographic surveys had been carried out after maintenance dredging to determine the results and what depths had been attained.

The report criticised the pilot for leaving the Jody F Millennium once the vessel made it into the harbour, which it said was "in dereliction of his pilotage duties".

It criticised the ship's master for not challenging the order to leave port, and said he would have been entitled to refuse the pilot's request to leave the ship.

Port Gisborne no longer operates the port in Gisborne, which was sold last month to the Eastland Energy Trust.

The chairman of Port Gisborne at the time of the stranding, John Clarke, said yesterday that he welcomed the report.

"We are pleased the MSA's findings support our initial view that the grounding of the ship was due to unprecedented weather conditions evidenced by the severe damage to the slipway and wharf structures which had survived 80 years of varying weather."

He did not agree with the MSA's criticisms of Port Gisborne, but because of pending litigation would not comment further.

"We do not accept responsibility in any way for the grounding of the Jody F Millennium and will vigorously defend our position."

Eastland Ports, owned by the community trust, was unavailable for comment.

- NZPA

Further reading: nzherald.co.nz/marine