In November 2016, fishing charter vessel Francie capsized in rough water crossing Kaipara Harbour bar. 8 people died, 3 survived. More would have survived had all worn lifejackets, more so if fitted with crotch straps. TAIC calls for lifejacket types to match the activities of commercial restricted-limit vessels, rather than just how far out they can go. A higher standard lifejacket should be mandatory on commercial vessels operating out of bar harbours and off exposed coastlines.
Executive summary
On 26 November 2016 the commercial passenger fishing charter vessel Francie was operating a charter out of Kaipara Harbour with the skipper and 10 passengers on board.
The skipper decided to cross the Kaipara Harbour bar and fish in an area of deeper water off the coast. By the time the Francie attempted to re-enter Kaipara Harbour, a forecast developing swell and the influence of an ebbing tide had caused the waves over the Kaipara Harbour bar to increase in height, steepen and break from several directions.
The Francie was struck from behind by a large breaking wave, then capsized and sank. Eight of the 11 people on board died. Only three people were wearing lifejackets when the Francie capsized.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (Commission) found that the conditions on the Kaipara Harbour bar when the Francie attempted to return were predictably unsuitable for the Francie to cross, and indications were that the skipper had a propensity for crossing the Kaipara Harbour bar in adverse conditions.
The Commission also found that it is virtually certain that everyone on board would have had a better chance of survival if they had been wearing a lifejacket, and virtually certain that more people would have survived had those lifejackets been fitted with crotch straps. The Commission noted that people have a low appreciation of the importance of wearing lifejackets that are well fitted and of types appropriate to the locations and conditions where they will be used.
The Commission identified three key safety issues:
- Some people are using the accident and incident reporting process to raise safety concerns because there is currently no dedicated, formal process within Maritime New Zealand where members of the public and the maritime community can submit reports on safety and security concerns, including complaints and allegations of suspected breaches of maritime legislation
- maritime rules that specify the types of lifejacket to be carried on commercial vessels are based only on how far the vessels are permitted to travel from the coast. The rules do not consider environmental factors such as vessels operating out of bar harbours and on exposed coastlines, where higher-specification lifejackets would be more appropriate
- there are indications that people may not have a sufficient understanding of the design and capability of the various types of lifejacket available, or of the importance of wearing a lifejacket of the correct size and type for any situation where there is a risk of people ending up in the water.
The Commission made four recommendations to Maritime New Zealand to address these issues and noted the actions already being taken to address one of the safety issues.
Key lessons arising from this inquiry were:
- extreme caution must be exercised when crossing bars because sea conditions can change for the worse in a very short time. Waves can come from more than one direction and are usually larger and steeper than surrounding waters and often breaking
- wearing a lifejacket will significantly improve the chances of survival if a person unexpectedly finds themselves in the water
- when a person wearing a lifejacket unexpectedly finds themselves in the water, their chances of surviving are significantly improved if the lifejacket is of the appropriate type for the conditions and size of the person, and is fitted with a crotch strap to prevent their losing it when it rides up and over their head
- the Maritime New Zealand website has useful information about selecting a proper lifejacket that best suits a person’s maritime activity, and how and when it should be worn
- if a person has concerns about the safety of any maritime activity, they should not hesitate to report them to the appropriate maritime regulator. This could help prevent accidents and save lives in.
Related Recommendations
The Commission is of the view that for commercial operations in exposed open waters, particularly when vessels are approved to operate out of bar harbours, the minimum requirement should be a type 401 lifejacket, and it should be required to have a crotch strap fitted. For the same reasons, Maritime New Zealand should place some emphasis in its safety campaigns on recommending that recreational users adopt a similar standard when intending to cross bar harbours or venture into exposed coastal waters.
On 23 May 2018 the Commission recommended that the Director of Maritime New Zealand continues to emphasise to recreational boat users the benefits of having crotch straps fitted to their lifejackets.
Maritime New Zealand receives some information via its general enquiries contact point and also via its maritime officers’ engagement with the community. However, there would be some added benefit if there were a similar process to that operated by the Civil Aviation Authority for people to report safety and security concerns. On 23 May 2018 the Commission recommended that the Director of Maritime New Zealand develop, implement and advertise a process where members of the public and the maritime community can submit reports on maritime-safety-related concerns.
On 23 May 2018 the Commission recommended that the Director of Maritime New Zealand use an appropriate mechanism to make it mandatory for crotch straps to be fitted to lifejackets required on board commercial vessels that operate out of bar harbours and off exposed coastlines