Fullers Group has been ordered to pay $68.336, in reparation to two victims after four passengers were injured, one suffering serious head injuries, when the passenger ferry Kea collided with Devonport wharf.
As Maritime NZ reported, the passenger vessel collided with the Devonport wharf on 9 November 2017.
In light of the above, the ferry company was also ordered to pay a fine of $86.159 and costs of $19.765.
What is more, for the very first time in a maritime case, the Auckland District Court also made a “work health and safety project order”.
In fact, the order requires Fullers to lead work for its own crews and also for other maritime operators to improve safety, a project that is estimated to cost $300.750.
The Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) gives Courts power to use a wide range of other sentencing options, in addition to reparation and fines, to ensure that large companies are given a meaningful sentence for health and safety offending. A project order is one of those sentencing options.
….Maritime NZ Northern Region Compliance Manager, Neil Rowarth, said.
In case that the project order is not carried out as directed by the Court, the defendant can be prosecuted for failing to comply, which could result in a fine of up to $250.000.
Concluding, this is not the first time that the ferry Kea reports such incident. Namely, Fullers Group was fined $40,000 and ordered to pay reparations of $90,000, after passengers were injured when the Auckland ferry Kea collided with Victoria wharf at Devonport on 17 February 2015,