KEY POINTS:
Maritime rescue services are getting frustrated at a string of apparent hoax Mayday calls in the Auckland area.
Auckland Coastguard reported there were four hoax calls between Friday and Wednesday. Two more yesterday also appeared to be hoaxes.
A National Rescue Co-ordination Centre spokeswoman said a caller yesterday rang in twice within 10 minutes and said "Mayday, Mayday" but then disconnected when asked for further information. Attempts were made to verify from Coastguard, boaties and other authorities if anyone was in trouble but nothing was uncovered.
"At the moment the alerts are officially unresolved, but the strong suspicion is that they were hoaxes," Maritime Operations Centre senior radio operator Graham Turner said. The fact that the calls were disconnected so quickly suggests they were hoaxes, he said.
Mr Turner said there had been 78 hoax or unresolved calls received from maritime radio sources so far this year, but that there were more than usual in the past week.
"They are a nuisance because we then have to spend time confirming whether they are genuine or not.
"It diverts people from doing other things and ties up resources," he said. "There are some we know straight away that are hoaxes - such as when you hear kids laughing in the background or someone starts getting abusive. But we treat them all as genuine unless we know for sure they are not."
- NZPA
