Maritime New Zealand officials raised concerns about aspects of the Manahau barge before it arrived in New Zealand, documents released to 1News show.
Westland Mineral Sands, the company which runs the barge, said the concerns were based on historic information and it has confidence in the vessel’s capability. But one union thinks lessons need to be learnt.
The motorised barge ran aground on Carters Beach on August 31 last year during poor weather. The barge was eventually refloated without incident and remains in Nelson under a detention notice.
Documents lay out lead-up to grounding
Emails released to 1News under the Official Information Act show the company asked for advice from Maritime New Zealand in 2022 before deciding on the barge.
Maritime NZ pointed out it was classified as a high-risk vessel, flagging things like a lack of lifeboats and the suitability of crew accommodation.
One official wrote: “I can’t stress this enough, the charterer should get a trusted consultant to assess the vessel and its ability to be fit for purpose”.
A spokesperson for Westland Mineral Sands said it did get advice and the concerns were based on historic information, as the vessel underwent a major retrofit before arriving in New Zealand.
It arrived mid-July last year, and on July 23, it was inspected and detained by Maritime New Zealand, though the reasons for this are redacted.
Two weeks later, on August 6, an exemption for the lack of lifeboats was given and later that day the detention notice was lifted.
The documents show that on August 24, while the vessel was leaving Nelson, there was a “steering gear malfunction” which left the barge at anchor for almost 12 hours before it was repaired and continued to the West Coast. One week later it ran aground.
The Maritime Union’s national secretary Carl Findlay said lessons need to be learnt.
“Really, it’s been amateurs’ hour. Really, this needs to be a case study with Maritime New Zealand involved, the unions, and the Government to make sure this never happens again because we could have had a very serious maritime disaster here,” he said.
Company has ‘full confidence’ in Manahau
In a statement, Westland Mineral Sands said it spent two years consulting experts about every aspect of the barge.
“WMS conducted a global search and identified the vessel formerly known as Star Victory for its suitability to navigate river bars like those in Buller and Grey,” a spokesperson told 1News.
The spokesperson said the vessel was detained in July due to “minor deficiencies” which the company took “immediate steps to rectify”.
It said there was no issue with the steering of the vessel when it anchored in Nelson in August, but a malfunction with the steering indicator as there was “one screw that had worked itself loose”.
The spokesperson said the company has “full confidence in the Manahau’s capability to provide a sustainable coastal shipping service along the West Coast”.
Buller Mayor Jamie Cleine said the barge has help reinvigorate the local ports and the company has already created around 60 jobs.
“So, you know, teething issues up front now but hopefully we work through those and we’ve got a long-term contributor to our economy that we simply didn’t have prior to this,” he said.
Manahau still under detention order
After the barge was refloated, it was towed back to Nelson where it remains under a detention order.
Westland Mineral Sands commissioned an independent investigation which found the grounding was avoidable if there had been better decision making by the crew. It found the vessel was fit for purpose, but official investigations are ongoing.
The company said long waits for replacement parts means it expects the barge to be back into service in the second half of this year.
In a statement, Maritime New Zealand’s deputy chief executive of regulatory operations, Deb Despard, said once repairs are made there will be another inspection.
“Maritime NZ is also working with the operator, classification society, and the Harbourmaster prior to the vessel returning to service to consider its ability to operate safely around the West Coast and what, if anything, more can – or should – be done,” she said.
