Latest news with #MaritimeNewZealand
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Charges brought against skipper of fishing boat
Fishing vessel Tamahine rocks in the waves at Taiaroa Head, at the tip of Otago Peninsula. It broke up on the rocks, and now its skipper has been charged in relation to its sinking. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery The skipper of a boat that broke up on the rocks below Dunedin's albatross centre a year ago is facing two charges. A Maritime New Zealand spokesman said yesterday the government agency had completed its investigation into the June 2024 grounding and sinking of the commercial fishing vessel Tamahine at Taiaroa Heads. "We have filed two charges under the Maritime Transport Act 1994 (s65 and s71) against one person as a result of the investigation." The charges — a failure to comply with duties in relation to maritime activity and dangerous activity involving ships or maritime products — could result in hefty fines or even imprisonment. A Ministry of Justice staff member said the skipper, Teone Taiaroa, would next appear in court on July 3. Mr Taiaroa and a crew member were airlifted to safety in what was described at the time as a textbook rescue. He was winched to safety after the 14m Tamahine ran aground and was rocking in the swell below the Royal Albatross Centre on Otago Peninsula about 6.45am on June 4 last year. The coastguard and nearby fishing vessels were already on the scene when the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter team arrived to winch down two Dunedin Marine Search and Rescue rescue swimmers. The first rescue swimmer went to Mr Taiaroa, who had remained aboard the boat as it was becoming overwhelmed by waves. The second rescuer went to the crew member who had become stranded on nearby rocks. The rescuer established the crew member was safe and returned to the boat to assist. The two rescuers moved the skipper off the boat before he and one of the rescuers were winched up to safety. Mr Taiaroa was taken to Dunedin Hospital in a moderate condition, and the crew member was assessed and treated at the scene. A Givealittle page set up in the days following the incident noted Mr Taiaroa came from a family with a long history on the peninsula and that was "very well respected" in the community. The boat was launched in 1960, it said.
Scoop
5 days ago
- General
- Scoop
TAIC Recommends Ban On Substandard Ships
Substandard ships should be banned from New Zealand, under appropriate criteria, says the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) in its final report into the container ship Shiling, which twice had to be rescued and towed back to port in 2023. TAIC's Chief Investigator of Accidents, Naveen Kozhuppakalam, says substandard ships represent a real risk to their crew members, to New Zealanders – including coastal and harbour pilots, stevedores, and other contractors – and to New Zealand's coastal environment. 'The Commission found that the Shiling had a history of deficiencies and that it's virtually certain the ship wasn't seaworthy while in New Zealand.' On 15 April 2023, the Shiling was under pilotage outbound from Wellington and had just initiated a turn into the harbour entrance channel when it suffered a total loss of electrical power, which caused the main engine to stop. The ship's momentum carried it into shallow water, and the crew used both anchors to prevent grounding. Harbour tugs then towed the Shiling back to its berth for repairs. 'The Commission found that a cracked cylinder liner in an auxiliary generator caused the blackout. It found the ship's generators and several other safety-critical systems were in a deteriorated condition, despite the ship holding valid statutory and classification society certificates,' said Mr Kozhuppakalam. Following repairs, the Shiling departed Wellington again on 12 May 2023 and sheltered from adverse weather off the New Zealand coast. Upon entering the Tasman Sea, the ship's main engine stopped again – this time because bilge water had contaminated its lube oil. With no way to restart the engine, the master made a Mayday call. A tow-capable vessel sailed from New Plymouth, towed the Shiling to sheltered waters, and eventually returned it to Wellington for further repairs. 'Rubber diaphragms designed to prevent water from entering the lube oil tank had deteriorated with age. It's very likely the diaphragms had gone uninspected for years,' said Mr Kozhuppakalam. Maritime New Zealand detained the Shiling for repairs and survey, and the ship eventually departed for Singapore in July 2023. 'The Commission is calling on the Ministry of Transport to consider legislating to give Maritime New Zealand the authority to ban certain ships from New Zealand. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has this power,' said Mr Kozhuppakalam. TAIC is also recommending improvements to New Zealand's tow-salvage capability. 'The presence of suitable tow vessels in New Zealand isn't guaranteed. It was just fortunate that a suitable vessel happened to be in New Plymouth and able to respond. 'The Commission is aware that the government has contracted an open-ocean tug until June 2026, and that a business case is underway to explore emergency towing capability. This is an important safety issue, so TAIC recommends continuing work to develop and implement a comprehensive maritime incident response strategy and to strengthen salvage and rescue capability,' said Mr Kozhuppakalam. TAIC has also identified several safety issues relating to the international and domestic systems for regulating foreign-flagged ships, and the ability of ship owners to devolve their responsibilities for safe operations to third parties without regulatory consequences. It has made recommendations to Maritime New Zealand to address these matters through the International Maritime Organization. The Commission's purpose is to improve transport safety by avoiding repeat accidents, rather than by ascribing blame.
Techday NZ
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Techday NZ
NZ submarine cables are 'attractive espionage targets', officials warn
Officials have warned the prime minister that submarine cables are "attractive espionage targets". Europe and the United States are taking measures to safeguard fibreoptic and other cables from what NATO has called "seabed warfare", though a recent investigation found no evidence of foul play in the Baltic Sea. Christopher Luxon said last month a "new threat has emerged" around cables that the government would look to manage as best it could. An Official Information Act response shows five briefings to Luxon since July 2024 that touch on cable security, the most recent on 20 March, but nearly all the information is withheld on national security grounds - even the titles of the documents. One briefing was summarised, saying "the vast amount of data that transits submarine cables makes them attractive espionage targets". However, it added the leading risk was from accidental damage or natural disasters, noting the eruption of an undersea volcano in January 2022 severed Tonga's only subsea cable, impeding both its own and international relief efforts. Luxon was also told, "Disruptions to these services caused by damage to submarine cables can be highly detrimental" and, "Submarine cables can also be damaged during conflict"; all the accompanying advice was withheld. Maritime New Zealand's guidance on cables stresses the law prohibiting fishing and anchoring in certain zones that could damage them, but nothing in the guidance online allows for deliberate sabotage or espionage. Defence and Customs have just bought two marine drones that can patrol the coast for long periods, though their focus is drug smuggling, according to the government. Cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea last year, amid a series of cable or pipe outages, and authorities voiced fears a Chinese ship dragged its anchor over them deliberately. While an investigation was inconclusive, the NATO military alliance has put more frigates, aircraft and naval drones into the area. The US has made recent moves to restrict China's laying cables and begun a review to tighten up the two-decade-old rules on subsea cables. However, the way the largely private industry of subsea development and operation is set up currently gives the government little national security leverage, at a time when AI and datacentres are fuelling an explosion in data transfer. The review by the Federal Communications Commission has proposed measures such as requiring companies that want to 'land' a cable to show a certified cybersecurity risk management plan, and setting up a new coordinating forum. Yet the US did not include subsea cables as a standalone sector when it updated its critical infrastructure framework last year. US commentators are now warning that cable sabotage will inevitably spread to the Middle East, that the vast majority of US military strategic communications is by the cables - and that most are in relatively shallow water of less than 400m, with their locations publicly available. There are calls for Washington to begin building partnerships to protect them. New Zealand set up a new risk and resilience framework in December 2024; while it mentions critical infrastructure, subsea cables do not feature in the publicly-available official commentary on national security. The new risk framework puts the Transport Ministry in charge of any big maritime security incident. The country has laws that restrict marine activity around cable landing zones, such as at Takapuna. A ban on fishing or lowering anchors in a swathe of Cook Strait is monitored 24/7 by a cable patrol vessel. The country has also spent millions alongside Australia on expanding data cable access for Pacific islands. "Cable and pipeline owners, such as Transpower, Spark and Southern Cross Cables, spend millions of dollars each year to protect the submarine cables and pipelines," said 2021 guidance from Maritime NZ. "Any damage could take months to repair."
