Missing skipper found, after arrest warrant issued

The 13m trawler Debbie Jane aground at Waimairi Beach in December 2019. Photo / Kiwi Creative Imaging

Missing mariner David Atkinson has been found, after six months out of contact with the justice system.

He faces charges over the 2019 grounding of a fishing trawler at a Christchurch beach.

He was arrested this week on a warrant that had been issued by Christchurch District Court Judge Michael Crosbie and made an appearance in the Napier District Court on Wednesday afternoon.

The court remanded him to appear in the Hastings District Court on May 3.

Atkinson has been charged with exposing individuals to the risk of harm, and operating a ship in a way that caused danger and risk.

The charges arise from the grounding of the Debbie Jane fishing trawler on Waimairi Beach, near Christchurch, in December 2019.

Maritime New Zealand has charged him as the skipper of the 13m boat. News reports at the time said that Atkinson and two crew members were rescued and were treated in hospital for hypothermia.

Judge Crosbie had issued the warrant to arrest when the case was called at a pre-trial call-over session in Christchurch, after hearing that lawyer Michael Starling's efforts to reach Atkinson had been unsuccessful.

Atkinson did not turn up at court, where it was thought he may have been out at sea for long periods working on trawlers.

The judge was told that no one linked to the case had heard from Atkinson since September, and granted the arrest warrant that Maritime New Zealand was asking for.