Two men who scuttled vessel in Waiheke Island marine reserve and misled investigators fined $40,000 in Environment Court

Blue Beard was illegally sunk in a marine reserve off Whakanewha Regional Park in 2019. Photo / Supplied

Two men who sank a vessel in a marine reserve near Waiheke Island have been fined $40,000 in court.

John Peter Lenssen and Cain Subritzy were found guilty in the Environment Court of deliberately scuttling Blue Beard off Whakanewha Regional Park in 2019, Auckland Council said.

They were fined $20,000 each and ordered to remove the wreck and any other items from the bottom of the seabed within three months.

Chief Environment Court judge David Kirkpatrick said the sinking of the vessel was "calculated and deliberate and "financially motivated".

He rejected the defendants' claim that it was a "failed attempt at a complex salvage" and a "well-meaning misadventure" rather than a deliberate act.

The vessel broke its moorings in a storm in June 2019 and went aground on rocks in front of Rocky Bay. The defendants approached the owner with an offer to dispose of it on land at a cost of $10,000, but the harbourmaster later received a report from a member of the public who said that it had been sunk.

The council said the defendants did not co-operate with the council or the harbourmaster during the investigation. They actively misled officers by telling them the Blue Beard was buried on private property despite knowing it had been dumped in a coastal marine area.

The vessel was disposed of in a marine reserve off Waiheke Island in 2019. Photo / Supplied

Auckland Council team leader investigations David Pawson said the decision sent a very strong message to anyone even thinking about dumping in the Hauraki Gulf's marine reserves.

"Instead of preserving the marine environment, they've chosen to wilfully sink a boat in a known protected area where adverse effects could have resulted.

"We will have no hesitation in prosecuting those who show disdain and disregard for our marine environment."

Judge Kirkpatrick granted the council's request for an enforcement order against each defendant, which required them to remove the wreck and dispose of it on land within three months. It is currently nine metres below the surface.

Kirkpatrick also declined Mr Subritzky's request for a discharge without conviction.

The men were charged with dumping a ship in the coastal marine area while not expressly
allowed to do so by a resource consent - an offence which carried a maximum penalty of two years in jail or a $300,000 fine.