Close call for yachtie in ship incident

Port Nelson Ltd is looking into why a large container ship had to drop anchor after failing to make the turn between the Cut and inner harbour.

Port Nelson chief commercial officer Parke Pittar said an internal incident report is reviewing procedures around the entry last week of the MSC Krittika, which was positioned back into the shipping channel by the port's two tugs.

Members of the public and the owner of a catamaran moored in front of the Sealord Rescue Centre on Wakefield Quay, heard and saw the flurry of activity around the entry of the 202-metre ship early last Wednesday morning.

Robyn Holmes was on her sailing catamaran Aorere, when the noise alerted her to unusual activity and she looked out through the companionway of her vessel to see a "wall" in front of her which was the side of the ship.

"I hear boats coming and going all the time, but I don't take a huge amount of notice, but this sounded different. It sounded close and sounded real loud," Ms Holmes said.

She then watched as the 31,000-ton ship dropped its anchor in the harbour, and as the tugs strained to help put it back on track after it veered towards her.

"I could see the ship was by then squared up, and I thought it had run aground. I heard the anchor chain go down; it was really loud and then lots of smoke poured from the ship's funnel.

"Then I saw the tug towing it backwards. I was not worried about the ship running me over because I thought it had run aground," Ms Holmes said.

Her boat is moored outside the shipping lane, halfway between a green starboard pile and the shore. She said at one stage the tug was only a length away from her. "I've never seen a ship that close to the pile."

Maritime New Zealand said yesterday it was waiting for a report from Port Nelson into the incident.

Mr Pittar said in a statement that the MSC Krittika, which is among the larger container ships using the port, entered the port on October 28 at around 5.30am, but "did not achieve an adequate rate of turn between the Cut and the inner harbour".

He said the vessel's port (left) anchor was deployed to reduce headway while both tugs were used to position the vessel in the channel. "The vessel was stopped while the anchor was recovered whereafter the vessel continued to her berth at Brunt Quay," he said.

Mr Pittar said the use of anchors was standard practice in ship handling.

"The ability to use anchors and tugs in assisting vessels manoeuvring in the harbour is severely compromised by the presence of other craft in close proximity. This is one of the reasons for the establishment of moving prohibited zones around large commercial vessels in the proposed amendments to the navigation safety bylaw reported in The Nelson Mail on October 27."

The ship regularly visits the Port of Tauranga, whose operations manager, Nigel Drake, said he had been advised of the incident.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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