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Ferry passengers were hurled to the deck after the vessel they were travelling on developed a steering fault and crashed into an Auckland dock yesterday.
Glaswegian Charles Donnelly, visiting New Zealand with his wife, was among the passengers on a Fullers ferry from Devonport into Auckland when it crashed into a pier next to Queen's Wharf.
"I was about to take some photos when the boat was slowing down and there was this quite loud bang and the boat just kind of stopped," he said.
Mr Donnelly said although it was apparent the accident was a minor one "things could have been a lot worse".
Some children who had been sitting at the front had fallen over, one apparently hurting her knee.
Some of the passengers had also had to be treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Fullers Group chief executive Douglas Hudson said the accident was due to a faulty steering system in the vessel.
"It meant the skipper was not able to control the vessel as per normal," he said.
Mr Hudson said he was not aware of any injuries to passengers and made assurances the faulty steering system had been fixed.
The boat's skipper had "many, many years of experience" and was happy with the outcome of their own investigation into the matter.
The ferry had not suffered any damage and was back in service following repairs and an investigation by Maritime New Zealand.
A Maritime NZ spokesman confirmed an investigation into the incident had taken place but was satisfied the matter would probably not need to be looked into any further.
