A tour to White Island has departed as normal this morning aboard the vessel PeeJay IV following the loss of PeeJay V on Monday afternoon.
White Island Tours marketing manager and spokesman Patrick O'Sullivan said investigations by Maritime New Zealand and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission were continuing but there had been no requirement for operations to be suspended at any time.
"We felt it was prudent to temporarily suspend operations while the investigations commenced yesterday," he says. "But after confirming that the authorities have no initial concerns with tours being carried out on our other vessels, we are back out to White Island today."
Mr O'Sullivan said White Island Tours was continuing to receive the usual number of bookings for this time of year, despite Monday's events.
"We've implemented a modified schedule using PeeJay IV which we hope will allow us to cater for all those wishing to visit White Island," Mr O'Sullivan said.