Transport Accident Inquiry Commission calls for regulation of all recreational skippers, boats

The final report comes two years after three people died in a boating tragedy in the Manukau Harbour. Photo / Hayden Woodward

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) is calling for all recreational boats and skippers to be regulated.

Jane Meares, the chief commissioner of TAIC, said the organisation has been calling for regulation for more than 12 years.

“The ongoing reluctance by lawmakers, policymakers and regulators to implement such a system is a tacit acceptance that every year around 15 to 20 recreational boaters die as a result of their own actions.”

The report recommends that the Ministry of Transport consider compulsory licencing and education of skippers, and that a standard for ensuring boats be built and maintained to a high standard be put in place.

“Right now, none of that happens,” said Meares.

“Anyone can skipper a recreational boat - even with no safe boating skills and no understanding of their responsibilities for the lives of people on board.”

Jane Meares, the chief commissioner of the Transport Accident Inquiry Commission. Photo / Vita Molyneux

The final report comes two years after three people died in a boating tragedy in the Manukau Harbour. The boat was taken into the dangerous waters of the harbour, and while it was crossing the bar a series of waves swamped the boat and it capsized then sank.

The skipper had no formal qualifications, but more than 20 years of experience as a skipper. He had been out beyond the bar more than 100 times to reach his favourite fishing spot.

The skipper chose to take the boat over the hazardous section of water at the bar in the harbour, rather than through the South Channel. The TAIC report found this placed the boat at higher risk of sinking.

Four people were on board the boat when it sank, and three of them died. None of the group was wearing lifejackets, and all of them had blood alcohol levels higher than that of the road driving limit of 50 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood.

The survivor of the accident said the group had forgotten to take food with them, so it was likely no one had eaten for several hours by the time the boat sank which likely contributed to their exhaustion levels. By the time they were in the water, they were likely already tired from an afternoon of activity, and this likely contributed to their deaths.

“This accident is a tragic example of how lapses made at the planning stages and during a maritime trip can reduce a person’s chances of surviving a maritime accident,” the report read.

“As long as there is no formal system for administering recreational boats and setting training standards for skippers, it is likely that similar accidents will continue to occur.”

TAIC has previously recommended some mechanism be introduced to educate skippers on their responsibilities.

“The current educational campaigns provide fundamental safety information but the motivation to learn and apply that knowledge is not levered by any legal compulsion,” the report read.

TAIC recommended that The Ministry of Transport (MoT) take steps to mitigate the increase of risk in competence-based accidents in recreational boating and undertake research to determine the merits of regulation for the sector, which would include licensing, registration, and boat design safety standards.

MoT said in February that it believed the most appropriate way to share maritime knowledge was via safety campaigns.

TAIC disagrees with this position, with Meares saying “education on its own is not enough”.

“In 20 years of education, we’ve seen no significant reduction in the number of fatalities,” she said.

However MoT said introducing skipper licensing would be “a blunt instrument for dealing with a safety issue”.

However, they agreed to reconsult with Maritime New Zealand and “explore the merits” of skipper education and licensing.

“If new evidence suggests that introducing skipper licensing would make a material difference to recreational boating, the ministry will reconsider its position.”