Shotover Jets afflicted with second bout of operating trouble

Shotover Jets had to cancel its operations yesterday when one of its boats sank after an on-board fire.

The incident happened at the Arthurs Point Rd jetty near Queenstown.

The company also had to temporarily shut down before Christmas to investigate engine problems.

A spokesman said the company was not yet commenting on what had happened but scheduled boat trips were cancelled for the rest of the day.

The Fire Service was alerted about 9.20am and firefighters found the boat well alight when they arrived.

"We had the fire out within about two minutes, but we were unable to save the boat from sinking, unfortunately," Fire Officer Ross Malcolm said.

"Just as we were about to put the pump into it to save it from sinking, it went under."

Mr Malcolm said the cause of the blaze, which gutted the inside of the vessel, was still being investigated, but did not appear to be suspicious.

The boat driver was on board when the fire was first noticed, but it was not known if any passengers were as well.

"When we got there, all the passengers were up in the carpark," Mr Malcolm said. No one was injured.

Shotover Jets, which has eight jet boats, offers tourists rides through the Shotover River canyons, with one of the selling points being that the craft can do 360-degree spins.

The Ngai Tahu-owned company closed operations for 4 1/2 days last month to investigate the engine management system, saying the problem was not safety-related.

Queenstown Harbourmaster Marty Black said last night he understood the company would not resume business today.

"It would be fair to say the company's been proactive," he said.

"Just until they see what the problem is they've stopped bookings."

- NZPA