Barge crash results to be released

The New Zealand Navy's VIP Barge aground on the beach at Tutukaka. Photo / Supplied

The findings of a NZ Navy court of inquiry into how its barge VIP ran aground at Tutukaka while returning from Waitangi Day commemorations in the Bay of Islands will be released publicly, the Navy says.

The court of inquiry was set up after the VIP ran aground as it was leaving Tutukaka Marina on February 8, after berthing there overnight following its appearance at Waitangi for Waitangi Day Commemorations previously.

The vessel hit submerged rocks between Rahomaumu Island and the mainland just south of the harbour before dawn and was towed back into the harbour by the stern, with the bow just under water.

The 14m long, 32-year-old wooden-hulled VIP was taken by road to Devonport Naval Base on February 10 and is being fully assessed by engineers to establish the full extent of the damage.

Navy spokeswoman Lieutenant Commander Angela Barker said the court of inquiry into the grounding had finished and the results had been sent to Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman for consideration.

Immediately after the grounding Dr Coleman said he wanted some hard answers about it, which he described as an "embarrassment" for the Navy.

Ms Barker said the court of inquiry was a standard process which did a full assessment of what went wrong and what needed to be done.

She said the outcome of the court of inquiry would be released publicly once the Minister had read and considered it and returned it to the Navy.

A spokesman for Dr Coleman said there was no timeframe for the matter to be returned to the Navy, but the findings are being discussed at Ministerial level.