MO-1999-211

On Thursday, 23 September 1999, at about 0703, the coastal tanker "Kakariki" was outbound from Dunedin with 19 crew, 2 supernumeraries, one harbour pilot and one trainee harbour pilot on board. The vessel was proceeding down Victoria Channel in the upper harbour of Port Otago at between 6 and 7 knots when it took a sudden sheer to port. The bridge team was able to counteract the sheer just short of the vessel running aground, realign it in the channel, and complete the outbound passage without further incident. There were no injuries and the vessel suffered no damage.

Safety issues identified included:
• the resources used to determine the feasibility of larger vessels transiting Otago Harbour
• the timing and validity of the findings of a risk assessment commissioned by the operator
• the level of corrective action taken by the operator based on the findings of the risk assessment
• the suitability of vessels with similar dimensions to the "Kakariki" transiting the upper harbour
• the level of communication, planning and dissemination of information between all parties involved in the operation.

Safety recommendations were made to the port company, operator and charterer of the Kakariki to address the safety issues.