Near miss prompts call for salvage tug

Maritime safety officials are to look at ways of buying or chartering a large offshore salvage tug after a near miss with a large bulk carrier two years ago.

The 140,000 tonne bulk carrier Taharoa Express lost power as it came into dock at an offshore loading buoy to take on iron-sand at Taharoa on the west coast, south of Auckland in February 2004.

The ship carried 1300 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and diesel and drifted towards the beach as engineers worked frantically to restart the engine.

By the time power was restored, the stern of the ship was in the surf and there was less than 2m of water beneath the ship's single screw.

Maritime officials said it was the closest thing to a marine disaster for many years and while it was not the only reason for looking at salvage tug options, it illustrated how badly prepared New Zealand was for a heavy duty salvage or heavy duty oil spill.

Maritime New Zealand said it would discuss with the maritime operators options which could include a new tug or an agreement on getting access to a large tug virtually 24 hours a day.

Chief executive Russell Kilvington said there had been several changes at Taharoa since the incident but there was still a large deficiency in New Zealand's ability to cope with a large-scale shipping disaster or oil spill.

"It exposed New Zealand's lack of a suitable emergency response vessel such as a large anchor-handling tug."

He said the Pacific Chieftain, a large tug based at New Plymouth to service offshore gas wells, was flagged in Vanuatu and could not be requisitioned for a New Zealand emergency.

"They are available at a price."

He said with the increase in offshore activity around New Zealand, there would be other tugs meaning the country was not "bereft of options".

He said the option of the Government owning its own tug had not been ruled out but they would also look at other options within the industry such as a charter or cost-sharing scheme.

He said the risk could be high all around the North Island, including the east and west coasts of Northland, the Marsden Point Oil Refinery in Whangarei Harbour and Taranaki.

He said a report on what the country might need and how it would be paid for could be ready in a few months.

Mr Kilvington said Maritime NZ had always known there was "an issue" of very rare but potentially catastrophic events around the coast.

He said a deep sea salvage tug would have to have accommodation, a bollard pull of at least 60 to 70 tonnes and specialised towing gear on a large stern section. The home base for a such a vessel had yet to be discussed.

- NZPA