Executive summary
On Tuesday, 15 December 1998, at about 1510, the Ukraine registered fishing vessel "Meridian 1" was steaming off Bluff when it grounded on Anchor Ridge close outside Bluff Harbour entrance. The grounding happened when the watchkeeping officer was distracted and failed to adequately monitor the progress of the vessel.
After the grounding a Southport (NZ) Limited pilot boarded "Meridian 1" and with the assistance of the 2 harbour tugs, Meridian 1 was refloated and towed into Bluff to assess the damage.
No one was injured due to the grounding but "Meridian 1" suffered minor damage.
Other factors contributing to the grounding were:
• poor passage planning
• poor navigational practices
• inadequate use of navigation aids.
Safety issues identified included:
• the low priority masters of fishing vessels often place on passage planning and crew resources for operations in confined waters compared to that when fishing
• poor understanding of the English language, leading to the mis-interpretation of instructions
• inexperienced watchkeepers being left in sole charge of the navigation of the vessel in confined waters.