On Thursday, 14 September 1995 at about 2252 hours a collision occurred between two motor vessels off the Port of Tauranga. A harbour pilot and one trainee pilot had just disembarked the outbound "MV Washington" and were proceeding out to board the inbound "MV Han Tao He" when the two vessels collided. Damage to the "Han Tao He" was substantial. Causal factors included non-compliance with the International Collision Regulations and the standard of bridge resource management.
