Safety expert's list details ferry failings

A review of Cook Strait ferries after a fatal accident, frequent mechanical problems and several near misses says practices were "well short" of being the best in the world.

The review, by international ferry expert Captain Robin Plant, criticised Maritime NZ's "blame" culture, which he said hampered improvements to safety, and expressed concerns over safety practices on ferries.

"It was apparent that some individuals tend at times to operate very close to the thin dividing line between confidence and complacency," said Captain Plant.

His review is the basis of a Maritime New Zealand steering committee report on Cook Strait ferries which lists 24 recommendations on Cook Strait water safety, including having a separate traffic lane for small vessels and upgrading navigation systems to improve safety in the Marlborough Sounds.

Maritime NZ director Russell Kilvington said yesterday all the recommendations had been implemented, or would be with a year.

Those implemented included all those involving ferry operations.

Captain Plant's review and the subsequent report were prompted by an "unacceptably high" number of incidents in the past five years.

Among them was a collision between a launch and the Bluebridge ferry Santa Regina last year, which claimed the life of 66-year-old Norman Macfarlane.

The report, made public yesterday, acknowledged that steps had been taken to resolve many of the issues that had plagued the industry.

These included inadequate training, mechanical failures and tension between boat operators and Maritime NZ in incident investigations, caused by the organisation's "culture of blame".

It identified 27 close calls between ferries and recreational boaties - some in deliberate protest actions - as the most common form of incident since 2000. Most occurred in the approach to Picton Harbour.

"Improving the navigational infrastructure from Wellington to Picton and a higher level of electronic surveillance - that's at the top," said committee chairman William Falconer.

The committee also supported setting aside a passage to be used solely by small vessels.

"You can go to any place and you would hear horror stories of small boaties at night who can't distinguish a large vessel - not just ferries - and misjudge the speed," Mr Falconer said.

Marlborough harbourmaster Alex Wijngaarden welcomed the report's findings but said it would take years to make them reality.

He said a vessel transiting services system would be installed by November, but a radar system was two to three years away.

Other report recommendations cover managing crew fatigue, limiting the use of autopilot systems, increasing autonomy and funding for harbourmasters, and reviewing drug and alcohol policies with a provision for random testing.

Mr Kilvington said sweeping changes had been made to attitudes and practices that had hampered the industry five years ago.

"It was a difficult period for safety. Today there is a new environment ...

"That wasn't possible 18 months to two years ago because there was an environment of tension which had been built up by the catalogue of things that had been going wrong."


A trail of mishaps in 2005

* January: Two ferries - the Arahura and the Santa Regina - come too close to each other after a lack of communication.

* May: 66-year-old Norman Macfarlane dies after a collision between the Santa Regina and the launch Timeless in the Marlborough Sounds.

* June: Santa Regina, on auto-pilot, almost grounds on rocks off East Head after it deviates from its course.

* Three more close quarters incidents before the end of the year.