Executive summary
On 24 August 2012, the passenger fishing charter vessel Torea was taking a group of passengers on a fishing charter in the Foveaux Strait area. There were 24 passengers and 3 crew members on board. The Torea was only permitted to carry 20 passengers. The skipper was unaware that he had more than 20 passengers on board.
While fishing for cod close to Seal Rocks in the area off Ruapuke Island, the Torea struck an uncharted rock as the skipper was increasing speed to move to another area.
The Torea's hull was damaged in the collision and water began entering the main cabin. The skipper made a distress radio call, then deliberately beached the vessel on nearby Ruapuke Island to prevent it sinking.
The rescue response by nearby fishing vessels, the Bluff Coastguard and the Bluff Harbour pilot launch was rapid and well-co-ordinated. All passengers were taken off the Torea without injury.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (Commission) concluded that the collision with the rock was a risk associated with this type of fishing that had been reasonably mitigated by the skipper. In this case, however, the collision could possibly have been prevented had he remained at a slower speed until clear of the shallow area, which was known for the existence of uncharted rocks.
The fact that the Torea was carrying 4 more than the maximum permissible number of passengers is a safety issue, even though the Torea was carrying sufficient lifesaving equipment for the additional passengers on board. The operator has since addressed this safety issue, so the Commission has made no new recommendations
The key lessons learnt from the inquiry into this occurrence were:
- skippers must know how many persons they have on board and ensure that the maximum permitted number of passengers is never exceeded
- it is risky operating small craft in shallow areas that have not been fully surveyed, so skippers must proceed with the utmost caution at minimal speed to avoid colliding with uncharted dangers.