Executive summary
The Anatoki was a New Zealand-registered coastal cargo vessel on a short coastal voyage from Nelson to Tarakohe. The Anatoki departed Nelson at about midnight on 5 May 2010 and was due to arrive off Tarakohe at 0545 the next day.
On 6 May 2010 at about 0506 the Anatoki ran aground off Rangihaeata Head in Golden Bay, close to the Tarakohe Harbour. The mate on watch at the time was unaware that the vessel had run aground for at least another 10 minutes. The mate then spent several minutes attempting to refloat the vessel before advising the master of the grounding.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (Commission) found that the grounding occurred because the progress of the Anatoki was not being monitored at the time and that the performance of the mate on watch was probably impaired by acute sleep loss, possibly exacerbated by the consumption of alcohol the evening before, which is known to affect the quality of sleep.
The Commission made other findings relating to standards of safe ship management.
The Commission made a recommendation to the Director of Maritime New Zealand to check the quality of the company’s safe ship management system.
Key safety lessons coming from this inquiry were: responsible watchkeepers should take the opportunity to have adequate sleep to prevent their becoming fatigued. under no circumstances should crew undertake safety critical tasks when impaired by alcohol. alcohol consumption can reduce the quality of sleep even hours after consumption stops.
Related Recommendations
A working bridge watch navigational and alarm system should have been fitted to the Anatoki to mitigate the known risk of one-man bridge operations. Had one been fitted the mate might have been alerted in time to prevent the grounding. The Commission recommends the Director of Maritime New Zealand requires New Zealand-registered coastal vessels operating under one-man-bridge-operation to have a bridge watch navigational and alarm system to mitigate the known risk of sole watchkeepers falling asleep or becoming distracted from monitoring the progress of their vessels. (019/12)
At the time of the grounding there was uncertainty between Maritime New Zealand and the owner of the Anatoki on what was a suitable level of crewing for a ship of that size and tonnage. The relationship between New Zealand and international standards for crewing ships is unclear and appears complex. The Commission recommends the Director of Maritime New Zealand resolves the correct level of crewing for the Anatoki and clarifies for industry the relationship between New Zealand and international crewing standards. (018/12)
The owner and the master on board the Anatoki were not effectively managing the standards of navigation and the drug and alcohol policy at the time of the grounding. The Commission recommends the Director of Maritime New Zealand audits Coastal Bulk Shipping 2007 Limited’s safe ship management system both ashore and on board the Anatoki to ensure that it meets the standards required by the New Zealand safety management system. (017/12)