MO-1996-214

On Sunday, 29 December 1996, at approximately 2233 hours, a collision occurred at the entrance to Wellington Harbour between the container vessel "Sydney Express", which was outbound, and the fishing trawler "Maria Luisa", which was inbound. The "Maria Luisa" capsized in the collision and five of the six crew members lost their lives. Safety deficiencies identified included poor bridge resource management on the "Sydney Express" and contravention of the collision regulations by the "Sydney Express", "Maria Luisa" and a third vessel, the yacht "Soundsgood". Recommendations were made relating to bridge resource management training, and a mandatory traffic management scheme for Wellington Harbour.