Fishing boat skipper on cellphone before collision

A woman's death after a collision between an Auckland ferry and a charter fishing boat was due to the failure of both skippers to keep a proper lookout, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission has found.

The finding came in a report released today into the January 4 collision that killed Gisborne woman Moira (known as Margaret) Newman, 74. She was a passenger on the Dr Hook fishing boat which was struck by the Fullers Quickcat ferry sailing from Waiheke Island to Auckland and died three weeks later.

None of the 377 passengers or eight crew on the Quickcat was hurt.

The commission found that the skipper of the Quickcat, Wayne Williams, did not have an additional lookout although visibility from the bridge was restricted by a cargo crane.

Immediately before the collision, the owner and skipper of the Doctor Hook, Bruce Newbury, was on a cellphone and examining fishing gear, and failed to respond to warnings from his passengers, the report said.

Williams has pleaded guilty to two charges under the Maritime Transport Act of operating a vehicle in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk to other persons and operating a vehicle in a manner causing unnecessary risk to property, and will be sentenced in Auckland District Court on September 16.

Newbury has denied the same charges and three others and a depositions hearing is scheduled for December 5 and 6. The additional charges include failure to keep a proper lookout.

The report found Williams did not see the Doctor Hook until it was too late but did put the engines into neutral and turned to port, which may have reduced the impact.

Newbury did not initially respond when his passengers asked if he had seen the ferry until one shouted at him and grabbed his arm. He then tried to turn to port.

The report found he may have been suffering from fatigue, having worked two 15-hour days immediately before the day of the accident.

The commission said Fullers had ordered a new crane to improve visibility and made it standard procedure to have at least two crew on the bridge at all times.

- NZPA