SPINNAKER SW

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Captain chargd for dangerous navigation

Yongyu Li, the Captain of the 'Spinnaker SW' pleaded guilty in May to one charge of operating a ship in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk when he altered course without further assessment and navigated the large ship dangerously close to Portland Island while underway to Tauranga to load cargo. The charge was filed by Maritime NZ. Prior to its departure on Feb 14, the vessel was anchored off the Mahia Peninsula to shelter from the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle. The vessel was en route to Tauranga as the east coast was being hit by the cyclone. The country was in a national state of emergency while the vessel was under way. Due to the heavy conditions at sea, the Captain decided to change the route without further assessment, navigating the vessel close to Portland Island. According to Maritime NZ this was an incredibly risky decision. Navigating a large bulk carrier close to the island meant there was a risk it would get into dangerously shallow waters, removing the safety net of deeper water should something have gone wrong with the vessel, such as a loss of power. "The decision of Captain Li to alter course without further assessment of whether the route was safe put the crew, vessel, and the environment at risk. If something went wrong, the conditions would have hampered a potential response as well." The original passage plan for the vessel was for it to go around Portland Island at a safe distance. This allowed for the significant swells and heavy weather anticipated by the crew. After its departure from anchor, the vessel was recorded as encountering six to seven metre swells. The heavy weather caused the ship to roll, and the captain made the decision to navigate the ship closer to the Mahia Peninsula and Portland Island. This change in route took the vessel close to shallow water, passing two spots with depths of 9.4 and 10 meters, which is very shallow for a bulk carrier of this size, and would have only left it with a couple of metres of clearance between the vessel and a potential grounding. The Captain’s decision to deviate from the agreed safe passage plan and undertake the above route, coupled with the heavy weather, was in the circumstances reckless and risked danger to the vessel , the crew on board, and the surrounding environment.

Captain put bulk carrier and crew at risk

The captain Yongyu Li of the 'Spinnaker SW' has admitted he put the vessel and those onboard in danger during Cyclone Gabrielle when he steered into shallower waters off Hawke's Bay en route to the Port of Tauranga. He appeared in the Tauranga District Court on May 1, 2023, via audio-visual link from China and pleaded guilty to operating a ship on Feb 14 in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk. The charge under Section 65 of the Maritime Transport Act 1994 has a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison or a $10,000 fine. Li has been a captain for two years and a first mate for 10 years before that when he came from Mahia to the Port of Tauranga. The weather was particularly bad because Cyclone Gabrielle was hitting New Zealand. His company's safety management system defined heavy weather as wind speeds on the Beaufort scale of force seven or more and significant waves of four metres or more. The vessel's maximum draft - the minimum depth of water it could safely navigate - was 8.8 meters. His employer's policy was that the under-keel clearance should not be less than 10 percent of the vessel's maximum draft in confined waters and during port approaches. In open waters, the minimum was 20 %. Li was on the ship's bridge between 11.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. when the vessel neared Portland Island. The wind force was at level seven and the 6-7 meter swell caused the vessel to roll. He decided to steer closer to land to slow the rolling motion but did not do a formal appraisal of his deviation from the original voyage plan. The ship entered water about 11.3 meters deep about 2.28 kiloemters from the island. Two spots were nin and 10 meters deep on its port side. 2.03 kilometers from the island and 666 meters from a 9.4.meter shallow spot, Li turned the ship 120 degrees. This put the 'Spinnaker SW' about 748 meters from the 10 meter-deep shallows and 2.38 kilometers from the island. Maritime New Zealand said by taking this path, Li risked the vessel hitting the ocean floor. The vessel became exposed to sea and swell motions, with insufficient draft and under-keel clearance, and also came within about 800 meters of the shoal ground. Li told a Maritime New Zealand investigator he chose to take the vessel into shallow waters because the wind was too strong and he wanted to avoid the ship rolling from left to right and shaking. He admitted he did not calculate the risk before heading towards land but instead had relied on his experience and observations. He said he knew he was breaching his employer's policy. Asked why he chose to take the ship out in such bad weather, the defendant said he wanted to unload the vessel in Tauranga. He told the investigator he would not offend in this way again. In court, Li was assisted by a Chinese interpreter who translated the court proceedings back to him and confirmed his guilty plea to the charge. His lawyer Tom Lynskey and Maritime New Zealand lawyers Frances Rhodes and Suzanne Trounson agreed that sentencing should take place in the Wellington District Court on July 19 to enable them to appear in person. Judge Melinda Mason convicted Li and remanded him to appear for sentencing by audio-visual link on that date.

Captain charged for permitting dangerous activities

Maritime NZ brought charges against Jianxi Chen, Captain of the "Spinnaker SW" on March 29, 2019. Captain Chen was charged with permitting dangerous activity involving ships or maritime products under section 65(2) of the Maritime Transport Act 1994. Chen permitted the crew to load a cargo of logs onto the bulkcarrier without the use of personal protective equipment or systems to prevent falls from height, which caused unnecessary danger or risk to persons working on the ship. Chen pleaded guilty to the offence and was sentenced before Judge Roberts in the District Court at Timaru. He received a fine of $6,000. Maritime NZ detained the "Spinnaker SW" on March 25, 2019, at Bluff. The crew was working at height without any fall protection in place. A Maritime Officer became aware of potential safety issues onboard the ship whilst it was loading logs. The Maritime Officer inspected the vessel’s Safety Management System (SMS) and personal protective equipment (PPE). The SMS required crew working at height to wear PPE. The PPE itself was in poor condition. As a result, the Maritime Officer imposed conditions on the vessel requiring operations to be conducted in accordance with the SMS. This direction was breached by the Captain, and crew aboard the vessel continued to work at height without PPE on March 26 without safety lines or harnesses. The Maritime Officer then took immediate action escalating previous compliance actions and detained the vessel to further investigate the issues. On March 27 a Port State Control Officer inspected the vessel and found deficiencies in their practices. The ship was further detained under the Maritime Transport Act section 55. The captain and other witnesses were interviewed by a Maritime Officer as part of the investigation into alleged on-going safety breaches. Maritime NZ undertook a full Port State Control inspection of the "Spinnaker SW" as a result of initial investigations. On March 30 the ship passed the independent International Safety Management (ISM) audit and the port State Control officer released the vessel. Now that the court case has finished the vessel can leave port. Information about the detention has been shared with other Asia-Pacific countries’ maritime authorities as part of the regional and international Port State Control (PSC) system that operates in our region under an agreement known as the “Tokyo MOU”. The "Spinnaker SW" sailed from Bluff on March 30 at 11.30 a.m. and was now headed via Timaru to Kunsan, ETA Apr 25.