Passenger charter vessel "Sweet Georgia", fire and grounding, Wellington, 10 March 2000
Status
Closed
Occurrence Date
Report Publication Date
Jurisdiction
NZ
Legacy Inquiry Number
00-202
On 10 March 2000 at about 2000, the passenger vessel "Sweet Georgia" was on a charter cruise in Wellington Harbour when a fire started in the engine room. The fire was contained by the actions of the skipper but the control cables for the engine were damaged, causing the engine to slowly manoeuvre astern. Other vessels in the vicinity were able to evacuate the 58 passengers and 4 crew without injury. The skipper remained aboard the "Sweet Georgia". The astern movement of the vessel caused it to ground on reclaimed land, where the fire service boarded and extinguished the fire. The skipper suffered smoke inhalation but nobody was injured.
The principal factor contributing to the fire was a fault in the house battery alternator.
Safety issues identified included:
• substandard marine electrical installations on small craft
• lack of consistency and the adequacy of rules governing standards for marine electrical installations on small craft.
Safety recommendations were made to the owner and the Director of Maritime Safety to address the safety issues.
The principal factor contributing to the fire was a fault in the house battery alternator.
Safety issues identified included:
• substandard marine electrical installations on small craft
• lack of consistency and the adequacy of rules governing standards for marine electrical installations on small craft.
Safety recommendations were made to the owner and the Director of Maritime Safety to address the safety issues.
Location
Wellington (-41.299541,174.811277) [may be approximate]