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A Picton launch skipper misjudged the course of the Strait Shipping ferry Santa Regina in May last year and put his craft on a collision course, Blenheim coroner Peter Radich has found.
Concluding a Blenheim Coroner's Court inquest into the death of skipper Norman McFarlane yesterday, Mr Radich found that the 66-year-old died from drowning on May 2, 2005, after his vessel Timeless collided with the Santa Regina.
Two marine investigations into the collision found that Mr McFarlane caused the collision by turning his 10m launch into the path of the interisland ferry.
The 14,588-tonne ferry sliced into Timeless about 7.18pm, smashing it in half and throwing Mr McFarlane and his partner Janis Mary Curd, into Queen Charlotte Sound.
Ms Curd was plucked from the water by a rescue boat launched from the Santa Regina, but Mr McFarlane's body was not found until some 40 minutes after the collision.
Nelson pathologist Jane Evans found Mr McFarlane's death consistent with salt water drowning. He had no significant injuries from the collision.
The 130m Santa Regina had left Picton for Wellington with 71 passengers and 32 crew and came within a boat-length of grounding at Picton Point as its crew attempted to avoid a collision. A Transport Accident Investigation Commission report found Mr McFarlane breached navigation bylaws and maritime collision regulations when he made the "fatal error" of turning to port instead of starboard and steering into the Santa Regina's path.
A separate investigation by Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) censured the Santa Regina's master for bridge-keeping practices that, while they had little bearing on the collision, were unsatisfactory.
In his findings yesterday Mr Radich said that MNZ had undertaken a "very comprehensive investigation" into the collision.
Among several recommendations was a suggestion the Marlborough District Harbourmaster should consider introducing traffic lanes in the sounds. Mr Radich adjourned the inquest in July to hear from the harbourmaster, Captain Alexander van Wijngaarden, who had since advised that traffic lanes were not a "simple answer".
- NZPA
