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Interim report into grounding published

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission on Oct 31 issued its interim report into the grounding of the 'Aratere' in June. Its full and final report is expected to be months off. Key to the grounding was a new steering system installed in the ship which could not be disengaged after a button was pushed 36 seconds past a way point, meaning the autopilot clicked on to a later way point and thought it was time to turn right. Instead, under autopilot, the vessel turned beachwards 1.28 nautical miles early, and for two minutes and six seconds the crew were unable to wrestle back of the ship from autopilot. When they did, it was too late and the ship was just seconds from land. The crew did not know they didn't know about two crucial aspects of forcing an override the autopilot: Rudder controls under the new Kronsberg steering system had to align within two degrees and the force takeover button had to be held down for five seconds. Merchant Service Guild vice-President Iain MacLeod said the issue of aligning the rudders was “known” and had happened on other vessels. The crew on the bridge were “highly trained and appropriately certified”, he said. The TAIC interim report said the bridge team were “not aware” of the two checks for override, but Kozhuppakalam and chief commissioner David Clarke said questions about how much, if any, training the crew had in the new system would come out in its final report.

Report into grounding with 26 recommendations presented

When the 'Aratere' ran aground in Picton Harbour on June 21, it wasn’t clear who was leading the emergency response, Marlborough’s harbourmaster Jake Oliver said when he presented his report into the grounding in June to the Marlborough District Council on Aug 22. The report had 26 recommendations. Work has already started on some of them. KiwiRail, Maritime NZ and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) are still investigating the incident, which was potentially down to an issue with the ferry’s autopilot. Oliver’s report said the police were initially the lead agency for the incident, but it was not clear where or how they were doing that. During the response, it became apparent police were standing down as the lead, but there was no defined handover to another lead agency. When there were concerns of a “tier 2″ marine oil spill, the lead agency became the council. However, they were packed into the harbourmaster’s office in Mariner’s Mall, which wasn’t big enough for them. Meanwhile, the overall lead agency in respect of the grounding was not clear. The council’s media team saw reports that Maritime NZ was managing the incident. Maritime NZ had been in touch about the oil spill, but had not sought “situational awareness” from the harbourmaster. While support from the Maritime NZ response team based in Auckland and Wellington was instrumental, it did not last long. Oliver’s report, based on debriefs with the council’s team, Coastguard, Civil Defence and others, also highlighted problems such as a vulnerability in communications due to a reliance on mobile phones, and a call for an investigation into handheld radios capable of secure communication. The report also called for a “fatigue management plan” and policy to guide teams during a response. Some of the recommendations, such as upskilling staff, have already started. More tabletop exercises were floated for training, and there was a call to ensure the harbourmaster’s team all had a skipper’s licence. A formal handover needed to occur if a new agency took over, there should be upgrades to the navigation warning system and marine emergency manual, and Oliver also suggested finalising a drone company contract for future events. Some of the recommendations in the report would be scoped before being brought back to the council for approval.

Ferry needs new plating

After the 'Aratere' hit a linkspan in Wellington, CentrePort confirmed that a part of the connection point where the linkspan, used to embark and disembark ferries, and the rear of the ferry met was damaged. CentrePort was proactively inspecting the linkspan and associated structures from a boat, and underwater, to identify any possible non-visible damage. Repairs on the 'Aratere’s stern were progressing well, with new plating inserted and then have the repair approved. Additional sailings were opted to manage capacity if required. The 'Aratere' was expected to return to service over the weekend of Aug 10/11. Maritime NZ was working to gather further information about what happened. Already on Aug 6 sailings of the 'Aratere' were cancelled due to a fault discovered during pre-departure checks. The fault was due to a technical problem involving a pump. It was fixed in time for sailings to resume by 4.30 p.m. the same day.