A New Zealand ferry company was fined with the amount of NZ $380,000 because the company’s ferry “City Cat” grounded on April 2017; The fine was also issued because the company failed to ensure the safety of the passengers’ and other sea users.
The East by West Company Limited’s vessel grounded on rocks near Karaka Bay, New Zealand, in April 2017.
An additional research revealed that City Cat had been usually passing the safe speed limits close to land, but unfortunately they kept avoiding the speeding Maritime Rules after the grounding.
For the records, the passenger’s fairy was travelling on 16 April, 2017 under calm weather conditions, being on a regular trip between Wellington city and the suburb of Seatoun. The main cause of the accident was that the vessel was sailing in the area at 17 knots, but the rocks at Karaka Bay are ordinarily visible to vessels travelling at the right speed of 5 knots.
As a result, the ferry came too close, about 200 metres, to the shore and the rocks and caused damages to the vessel. All the 16 passengers, the deckhand and the captain that were on board did not report any serious injuries relating to the grounding.
In total, East by West Company Limited accepted fines of 280,000 for the grounding and 100,000 for avoiding the speed rules close to shore. In last November, the skipper was also fined $1,688 for unsuccessfully operating the ship and putting in risk passenger’s life and safety.
