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Skipper of fishing vessel fined after collision with container ship

Skipper Mike Te Pou has been fined after his fishing vessel 'Commission' collided with the 'Kota Lembah' off the Bay of Plenty on July 28, 2021. He was on board with two crew members and an MPI observer at around 3.15 a.m. when he saw the 'Kota Lembah' on his radar. The crew was setting out longlines for fishing, and Te Pou decided to help them, despite seeing the container ship on his radar. He remained away from the wheelhouse for 40 minutes and didn’t check on the location of the 'Kota Lembah'. At 3.55 a.m., the vessels collided. While no one was injured, it had the potential to be serious and multiple people could have been thrown into the water. The 'Kota Lembah' crew have also acknowledged their part in the incident, saying they failed to give way and didn't alter their course to avoid a collision. Te Pou was ordered to pay $1625 in Tauranga District Court for operating a ship "in a manner which caused unnecessary danger or risk to any other person or to any property".

Investigation report into collision released

The collision of the 'Kota Lembah' with the f/v 'Commission' around 130 km off the coast of the Bay of Plenty on July 28, 2021, could have been prevented if both skippers had appropriately mapped the other's position, an investigation has found. The container ship failed to give way to the much smaller fishing boat. But under international maritime law, the small fishing boat should have moved when it became evident the larger ship wasn't. It had days earlier left from Napier to commercially fish off the coast of the Bay of Plenty with a crew of four. The 'Kota Lembah' was on its way to Auckland from Lyttelton. On the night of the accident, it was intentionally drifting off the coast of the Bay of Plenty, waiting for a berth to come free at the Port of Auckland. When the 'Kota Lembah' discovered the fishing vessel on its radar about 3 a.m., a decision was made to continue forth, believing the 'Commission' would keep out of the way. An hour later, the crew of the container ship lost sight of the 'Commission'. They began to worry that the intention of the crew was to board the container vessel. Their fears didn't eventuate; the 'Commission' collided with the cargo ship just seconds later, scraping along the hull as the waves rose and fell. Nothing was felt or heard by the 'Kota Lembah's crew, and no one on either vessel was injured. The crew of the fishing vessel backed away from the cargo ship, donned lifejackets and prepared to abandon ship. However, a damage assessment undertaken in the minutes after the collision found that the integrity of the ship was intact, and the crew stayed aboard the vessel. Damage to the container ship was limited to deep gouging of the hull's paint. Not knowing the smaller boat had collided with his ship, the captain of the container ship didn't attempt to contact it when it emerged from the bow. The fishing boat tried to contact its larger counterpart via radio but was unsuccessful. It was later determined that was due to the communication antenna on the smaller boat being damaged by the collision. The crew severed the fishing line and docked in Tauranga the next day. The container ship made it to Auckland when a berth opened up two days later. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission's (TAIC) conclusion was that both parties were to blame for the incident. "The FV Commission's skipper assumed that as they were fishing, other vessels would keep out of its way. Similarly, the bridge crew on the Kota Lembah assumed, contrary to [the regulations] that the FV Commission would avoid colliding with them. Under these circumstances, the collision was inevitable." The TAIC criticised the operation of both vessels, saying the standard of watch-keeping did not meet the required regulations. Concerns about fatigue management on board the smaller fishing boat were also raised by the commission. The skipper had been awake for 20 hours at the time of the incident, undertaking straining physical and mental tasks. The TAIC recommended to the owner of the fishing vessel that further procedures were put in place to ensure crew got appropriate rest.