A Whangarei charter boat skipper and the company he runs have pleaded guilty to a charge relating to the death of a diver struck by a propeller.
Formal guilty pleas by Mark Andrew Barnes, 59, skipper of the charter boat Pacific Hideaway, and The Dive Spot, were entered in the Whangarei District Court this week.
They are charged with breaching the Health And Safety in Employment Act 1992. The charges related to the death of Bruce Porter, 56, diving on the Pacific Hideaway boat on February 7 at the Poor Knights Islands, when he was struck by the propeller as he resurfaced. He died from his injuries.
Mr Porter was with the Western Underwater Dive Club from Auckland, which had chartered the catamaran.
The boat is owned and skippered by Mark and Denise Barnes. The company was charged with breaching Section 15 of the act.