Multiple investigations under way into beleagured MV Shiling cargo ship

The MV Shiling arrived in Wellington on Tuesday morning. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Maritime New Zealand, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission and Singaporean authorities have all launched investigations into the beleaguered MV Shiling cargo ship.

The Singapore-registered ship was towed to Wellington this morning after it lost power 22 nautical miles from Farewell Spit and issued a mayday call on May 12.

An oceangoing tug from Port Taranaki, the Skandi Emerald, was dispatched and safely secured the troubled vessel, which had been anchored at Tasman Bay since.

The mayday call is the fourth incident involving the ship that New Zealand authorities have dealt with in the past year.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has already launched an investigation after the Shiling last broke down while leaving Wellington harbour in April.

A TAIC spokesman said subsequent events may be taken into account as part of that investigation.

Maritime New Zealand duty controller Kenny Crawford confirmed the regulator was also undertaking an investigation and Singaporean authorities were sending an investigator to Wellington, too.

Shiling and Skandi Emerald were met by two port tugs when the vessels arrived in Wellington after a 24-hour journey from Tasman Bay.

Conditions in the capital were ideal for the operation, with light winds and a fine weather forecast.

Crawford said it was difficult to say whether the mayday incident could have been avoided because they still didn’t know what went wrong.

“We still do not know what the problem is; whether it’s the same problem that’s happened before, or whether it’s a completely separate problem.”

MV Shiling berthed at Wellington's CentrePort after being towed from Tasman Bay. Photo / Mark Mitchell

After Shiling broke down in April, permanent repairs to the ship’s generators and main engine were unable to be completed in New Zealand.

Temporary repairs were instead completed to a standard thought to give Shiling sufficient engine power to sail to Singapore for a permanent solution.

Instead Shiling again lost power, this time in open water.

Maritime New Zealand said it only released Shiling from detention after the vessel’s classification society, Lloyd’s Register, confirmed it was satisfied with repairs to the ship’s generators and main engine.

“Singapore has signed this off. They’re the legal entity responsible for the oversight of the vessel, and we thought we ought to be happy with this,” Crawford said.

“On this case now, we will be working with Singapore now to make sure they’ve got this absolutely right.”

The Shilling incident follows another mayday call from Interislander’s Kaitaki ferry in January when it lost power and started drifting towards Wellington’s south coast with 864 people on board.

Crawford said it was unusual to have two mayday incidents within such close proximity to one another in New Zealand.

Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Daran Ponter said the two mayday calls have exposed our “fragile” emergency response capability in the event of a maritime disaster.

There is no emergency towing vessel on standby in New Zealand to help large ships in strife, while our most powerful tug based in Taranaki would take 17 hours to get to a maritime incident in Wellington.

The container ship MV Shiling under tow in Cook Strait, near the entrance to Wellington Harbour. Photo / Mark Mitchell

In MV Shiling’s case, the ocean-going tug Skandi Emerald happened to be in New Zealand for a work assignment, also in Taranaki, and could be diverted to assist in the mayday.

Harbour tugs were sent to Kaitaki’s aid, but thankfully, power was able to be restored to the extent the ferry could limp back to Wellington harbour.

It’s unknown how these harbour tugs would have fared should their assistance have been required in a rough open water environment.

It’s made Ponter feel uneasy.

“We’ve always known this, we’ve innately known this. We’re a country at the bottom of the world, very remote from anywhere else, and travel around New Zealand shores has always come with a degree of risk.

“As ships have modernised, we may be guilty of putting that risk to one side, but it’s still there.”

He and Marlborough District Council Mayor Nadine Taylor penned a sharp letter to Transport Minister Micheal Wood after the Kaitaki mayday call earlier this year.

They said despite the level of traffic in the Cook Strait and the “legendary winds” and tidal currents, there is neither the legislative requirement nor any physical resource to provide support for vulnerable or disabled shipping.

“In our view, this is a completely inadequate situation that is undermining public confidence in our Government to manage a well-known risk and prioritise public safety.”

Associate Transport Minister Kiri Allan responded to the pair’s letter and a meeting has been scheduled for later this month.

Wood told the Herald last week that Maritime New Zealand had provided initial advice and updates to Allan and himself over the past few months in relation to offshore emergency response capability.

“After discussing this advice, we agreed for Maritime NZ to develop further advice on more specific options with the support of sector stakeholders. I am expecting to receive this detailed advice shortly.”