The vandalism was discovered when crew arrived for training on Sunday morning and was soon fixed, but van Tuel said if it had been discovered only when the seven crew arrived to put to sea about 3am on Monday, there would have been a delay to re-inflate the pontoon to avoid it dragging in the water.
Skipper van Tuel said vandalism is an occasional problem at the rescue crafts mooring, and any suspicious activity in the area off Meeanee Quay should be reported immediately.
The most severe cost about $15,000 after important equipment was tossed into the inner harbour by people who had broken into the cabin.
The rescue service relies on trust grants and public support, including its annual raffle that is currently running with a boat and vehicle as first prize.
Such support had enabled the purchase of the Celia Knowles at a cost of $1 million, and losses from vandalism and theft were not ones the Coastguard could afford, he said.
The Celia Knowles voyaged about 40 miles to its search area off Portland Island, near where the missing man was reported to have fallen from the liner about 6.45pm on Saturday, just three hours after the Norwegian Jewel departed Napier with more than 2000 passengers and 1000 crew headed for Tauranga.
A search and rescue operation was launched as CCTV cameras on-board the liner and a search of the vessel confirmed there was a man overboard in Hawke Bay south of Portland Island.
The liner, which had just completed the third of its six visits to Napier, stayed in the area to assist in the search, which national Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre and Maritime New Zealand spokesman Vince Cholewa said was joined by three helicopters, two container ships, and two yachts but that search overnight and that with the Celia Knowles today were unsuccessful.
The coastguard boat returned to Napier, with the search called-off about noon and the liner, with operators the Florida-based Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) having lopped Tauranga from the schedule, was headed for Auckland where police and other officials would investigate reports the missing man, a 62-year-old from Australia, had jumped overboard.
The Norwegian Jewel, which is on a 12-day New Zealand cruise from Sydney, is one of at least nine cruise ships currently in New Zealand waters and ports, and one of 16 ships operated by NCL which at about 8.9 per cent of all passengers is the third-biggest in the market worldwide.
The fleet has had at least seven man-overboard situations in the last two years, none involving the Norwegian Jewel, several notable for rescues with a happy ending.
A female passenger fell from the Norwegian Sun near Freeport in the Bahamas on November 12, and crew were praised for the rapid deployment of the rescue craft and rescue of the woman within 20 minutes.
Another woman fell from the Norwegian Epic while taking photos also near the Bahamas in March 2018, and in August last year a woman was rescued after spending about 10 hours in the sea after a fall from the Norwegian Star about 60 miles off the coast of Croatia.
A pyjama-clad woman who fell from the Epic into the Mediterranean in June was not found.
