Foveaux ferries in near collision

The company which runs ferries between Bluff and Stewart Island is investigating an incident while operating in heavy fog yesterday.

A Wellington couple told The Southland Times the ferry they were on had swerved as another ferry appeared from the fog in Foveaux Strait.

"I know how dangerous the situation was. It was split seconds to catastrophe - it was," Keith Turner said.

Ferry operator Real Journeys chief executive Dave Hawkey told NZPA today a thorough investigation was under way, reviewing data from the ferries' radar systems and speaking to the two boat captains, and more information would be available in the next couple of days.

However, he said it was unlikely the boats were as close to crashing as Mr Turner believed.

"I can confirm that the boats had their radars on. The guys knew there was another boat coming, it's not as though they came out of the blue.

"They obviously wanted to make sure there was plenty of space, there was, we believe somewhere between 50 and 80m between the two vessels.

"It's probably a little too close, they should be a little further apart, but we've got to learn from this and work out what we could have done better."

In fog, safety rules dictated boats must be able to stop within half the visible distance, but whether that rule had been observed was not yet clear, he said.

"Those vessels will pull up pretty quick."

Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) spokesman Ross Henderson said Real Journeys had notified the organisation of the incident. MNZ would decide whether to conduct its own investigation once all the official paperwork was received.

- NZPA