Crash brings renewed call for shipping lane

The ferry Santa Regina berthed in Piction. File picture / Mark Mitchell

A Picton boat operator has renewed his call for a ferry lane to be established in the Marlborough Sounds following last night's fatal collision between a Cook Strait ferry and a 10m boat.

A man died and a woman was taken to Blenheim's Wairau Hospital in severe shock after the bridgedecker Timeless, which they were on, collided with the Bluebridge ferry Santa Regina in what is believed to be the first fatal accident of its kind in the Marlborough Sounds.

Peter Beech likened the Queen Charlotte Sound to a slalom course during the busy season with ferries having to weave their way through up to 300 recreational boaties a day.

"We need a lane up the middle of the Sounds which the ferries have to stay in, and which recreational boaties have to stay out of," he said.

"A lot of recreational boaties don't know the rules so they just go up the middle of the Sound. I have sympathy for the ferry masters who have to weave their way through them."

Mr Beech said nobody liked having regulations imposed on them but for safety it needed to happen.

"The only way to make it safe is to have a designated shipping lane." he said.

Authorities have not released the name of the couple aboard Timeless, and it is not clear if they are from Marlborough. The boat did not appear to be a member of either the Waikawa Boating Club or the Mana Cruising Club, and Picton and Waikawa boat brokers spoken to were not familiar with it.

A Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) investigator was in Picton today to interview witnesses, and would also talk to the bridgedecker's survivor when she was up to it.

Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand was spurred into action after the Bluebridge ferry put out a distress call about 7.30pm.

The Santa Regina's staff in its rescue tender picked the woman out of the water, who was taken to Wairau Hospital in shock and with moderate injuries. She was still in hospital this morning.

Dick Chapman from West Bay Water Transport pulled the dead man from the water, after heading out to search.

"It is a sad situation when you are trying your best to save somebody and sometimes it doesn't work," he said.

"When you find somebody like that and have to bring them in it is not a pleasant experience but it has to be done."

Picton man Dave Baker, one of the first on the scene, said people who regularly used the harbour said it could be difficult for a boat going into the harbour at about Picton Point to tell the difference between an outward going vessel and the Picton town lights.

Harbourmaster Alex van Wijngaarden would not speculate on what happened, but said the visibility at the time of the collision was "not flash".

He said the Interislander vessel Arahura was held back from entering Picton for about an hour.

Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) communications advisor Steve Corbett said he believed this was the first collision with a Cook Strait ferry and it was certainly the first fatality due to such a collision.

He did not know if the bridgedecker had a radar reflector, which helps smaller boats to show up better on ship's radars.

MSA director Russell Kilvington said the authority was concerned by a seeming increase in the number of problems involving Cook Strait ferries.

However, he said the recent mechanical issues with the Interislander ferries Aratere and Arahura seemed very different to each other and that last night's collision was in bad weather.

"How, and if at all, you're able to link those remains part of the conjecture which you'll only be able to answer when we've done all the investigation," Mr Kilvington said.

"But we will be fast-tracking all of the current investigations."

Wendy Pannet, a spokeswoman for Strait Shipping which operates the Bluebridge ferry, said today that from talking to the master and crew of the Santa Regina the company understood the pleasure craft had hit the Santa Regina ferry near Picton Point.

The Santa Regina had just left Picton for Wellington when the accident happened.

Ms Pannet said what happened was a "tragic accident" and the company extended its deepest sympathies to the dead man's family.

Strait Shipping's managing director Sheryl Mateni, who is in Picton working with investigators, has said there were no suggestions of any equipment problems on the ferry.

The Santa Regina has been detained at port in Picton. Strait Shipping was contacting 100 people who were due to sail from Picton this morning and rescheduling them on to other sailings.

Marlborough Mayor Alistair Sowman said the accident was a tragedy but it was hard to comment about changes in terms of safety or shipping until the investigation by the Maritime Safety Authority was complete.

"Mishaps are always a concern to the council. It's always a very busy shipping lane and we do all we can to ensure a safe passage," Mr Sowman said.

Local bylaws say that all vessels under 500 tonnes must keep clear of those over 500 tonnes within the harbour limits.

- nzpa