Police boat cleared of 'abandoning' Team NZ

By WAYNE THOMPSON

Auckland Police have been cleared of blame by the Marine Safety Authority after an incident in which a police patrol launch had to abandon America's Cup patrol duties to save itself.

On February 18, after Team New Zealand had lost its third race, the 12m boat known as Police 11 was directed to help the yacht as it returned from the racecourse among a crowd of spectator boats.

The authority reports that as Police 11 headed up the Waitemata Harbour from North Head, it struck several large waves, which washed over the bow.

Pressure of the water caused the forward hatch to break, allowing water to enter the cabin.

The vessel was immediately diverted to the Marine Rescue Centre to pump out excess water.

MSA spokesman Helen Mojel said the authority was satisfied with the police explanation for the incident and would take no further action.

Senior Sergeant Martin Paget, who heads the Police Maritime Unit, said the incident was "just one of those situations".

Mr Paget said he was puzzled by the authority's incident summary mentioning the hatch had not been closed and secured properly. "It's incorrect. I don't know why it's in that report."

He said commercial vessels were required to report any incident. The police operated 11 patrol craft to maintain public safety among the 6380 spectator craft which attended the five-race America's Cup.

Police 11 had just completed the rescue of a sinking yacht at North Head when it heeded the call to help Team New Zealand.

The MSA incident summary for February recorded four collisions and two "close-quarters" incidents between commercial vessels and spectator boats.