iceberg floats in the Southern Ocean, south of Invercargill. Picture / Reuters
Icebergs just off Otago are endangering shipping, a fishing boat skipper warned last night
An iceberg 50m high and 200m long was last night only 43 nautical miles southeast of the tip of the Otago Peninsula and was heading towards the coast.
Travelling with it are icebergs the
size of a house and it is those that ships will need to look out for, Gavin Pope, skipper of the Thomas Harrison, said from his vessel late last night.
The largest iceberg was said to be travelling north-west at 1.2 knots.
Moeraki marine radio operator John McLellan said he was worried that an iceberg had been able to get as close to the New Zealand coast without accurate information being passed to shipping.
"It is a dangerous situation," said Mr McLellan, a liaison officer for the Fishermen's Federation.
Ships should have been given accurate information long ago. "If anyone slams into that it is all over."
Icebergs were spotted about 260km south of New Zealand about two weeks ago.
Mr Pope said his vessel had been 200 nautical miles southeast of the Otago Peninsula when it picked up the icebergs on radar.
"As we've been coming further and further north they've been starting to break up."
The bigger ones could be picked up on radar, but those the size of houses were less easy to spot.
Maritime Safety Authority spokesman Steve Corbett said a navigation warning had been released about the biggest of the icebergs as soon as the authority was informed of its position.
The warning went out at 9.30 last night.
- OTAGO DAILY TIMES
