Wellington and Marlborough council leaders will meet with Associate Transport Minister Kiri Allan next week. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wellington and Marlborough council leaders will meet with Associate Transport Minister Kiri Allan next week. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Interislander Kaitaki ferry and MV Shiling cargo ship’s mayday calls have exposed New Zealand’s “fragile” emergency response capability in the event of a maritime disaster.
Government ministers have asked Maritime New Zealand for detailed advice on options to strengthen this capability, which they expect toreceive shortly.
Meanwhile, Wellington and Marlborough council leaders have secured a meeting at the Beehive later this month to discuss what they say is a completely inadequate situation, which is undermining public confidence in the Government to manage a well-known safety risk.
Kaitaki issued a mayday call in January when it lost power in Cook Strait and started drifting towards Wellington’s rocky south coast with 864 people on board.
Then, just last week, Shiling also issued a mayday call when it lost power 22 nautical miles from Farewell Spit with 24 crew members on board.
Both avoided disaster, the Kaitaki narrowly so.
Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Daran Ponter said it had exposed the fragility of New Zealand’s maritime emergency response capability.
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.
The two mayday calls, within months of each other, have 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.”
The MV Shiling cargo vessel lies at anchor in Tasman Bay. Photo / Skandi Emerald
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.
But Allan said in her response that emergency ocean towage was highly specialised, the vessels were expensive, and the required level of crewing made ongoing operating costs significant.
Allan said she has also been advised only a small number of maritime incidents would have improved outcomes if an ocean-going tug was available.
“If a vessel faces a threat, such as loss of power or loss of steering, then the tow capable vessel must be sufficiently ready and closely located to the scene of the incident if any effective preventative action is to be feasible.”
The challenge for New Zealand was therefore to provide effective capability at a reasonable cost, given our 15,000km-long coastline, Allan said.
Wood told the Herald, 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.”
Allan added she had also received regular updates about the status of MV Shiling and would discuss this further with Maritime New Zealand.
A Maritime New Zealand spokesperson said the regulator continued to work with sector stakeholders to develop options for consideration by ministers.
