Executive summary
On Saturday, 2 March 1996, at approximately 1230 hours, the rigid inflatable passenger craft "Uruao", while engaged on a whale-watching trip off Kaikoura Peninsula, suffered a catastrophic failure of the bags that secured her buoyancy pontoons in place and capsized approximately three minutes later. One passenger was trapped under the capsized craft and drowned. The causal factor was the loss of stability experienced when all four buoyancy pontoons were lost. Safety issues identified included maintenance procedures and stability requirements for rigid inflated craft.
Related Recommendations
Review the NAIAD Instruction Manual and expand it to include full fitting instructions for the bags, and guidelines for the user regarding repair or replacement of wearable parts.
Produce an MSA Circular Letter to Surveyors, instructing them, when surveying rigid inflatable craft, to include the inflatable pontoons and their attachments to the hull, as though they were an integral part of the hull.
Consider extending the half-round recess for the full length of the craft to ensure adequate freeboard in the event of deflation or loss of a pontoon on similar craft built in the future.
Adapt the appropriate rules to require any rigid inflatable to: Be able to withstand the deflation of any one of its inflatable pontoons and still meet the existing stability criteria. Have explicit instruction manuals and guidelines for maintenance, which must be sighted by the surveyor before a Certificate of Survey is issued. Have each pontoon numbered for identification and its method of securing recorded on the Certificate of Survey if the inflatable pontoons are interchangeable.
Introduce a system where each set of bags has an identification mark that can be used to trace their movement and repair.