A fishing boat that ran aground on Castlepoint Beach was smashed to pieces at the weekend.
The recycled kauri trawler travelling south from Napier ran into trouble on Thursday night when its anchor chain broke, leaving it adrift. Police said they were alerted of a 12-metre-long fishing vessel drifting toward rocks at about 6.20am on Friday morning. Around the same time, Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand [RCCNZ] said they were “notified of a vessel in danger of running aground at Castlepoint”.
The Wellington Rescue Helicopter flew out to the ship, and local fishermen were asked to help, RCCNZ said.
“Shortly after, a local fisherman advised RCCNZ that the vessel was beached and the two crew were safely ashore. The helicopter was stood down as a result of RCCNZ being notified that the crew were safe.”
Regional Harbourmaster Grant Nadler said the crew grounded the trawler behind Castlepoint Motor Camp and made a distress call. They were able to jump off the vessel because the sand made it relatively safe to do so, he said.
When the boat ran aground, it became the responsibility of the owner’s insurance company, but still under the jurisdiction of the Greater Wellington Regional Council [GWRC], due to the size of the vessel.
The insurance inspector arrived on Sunday evening and, after writing it off, oversaw the clean-up, Nadler said.
He said that, due to the extent of the boat’s damage and that the closest repair site was in Wellington, it couldn’t be refloated because it was too much of a risk.
Water that had flooded inside the ship would have made it difficult to repair the vessel, he said.
“It was unfortunate.”
After the call to dismantle it was made, the intention was to tow it above the high tide mark in one piece, but when parts of the boats broke away, they left it there, he said.
Due to the tidal zone, once the ship started to break up, the clean-up crew had to move quickly.
Nadler saw no significant oil spill, only some light sheen, because the water washed about the engine. Due to the warm weather, wind and waves, the sheen dissipated “very quickly”.
A vacuum truck took out the majority of the oil.
A clean-up crew transferred the many different pieces of the ship to the top of the beach and secured them, eventually disposing of the bigger pieces with trucks. The metal parts went to the scrap dealer yesterday and the timber parts elsewhere, but some of the timber wasn’t in great condition and was disposed of.
Castlepoint locals also lent a helping hand, picking up small pieces of debris, Nadler said.
“They have done a very good job in a short space of time.”
He estimated the clean-up would have finished either yesterday or there may be one more truckload to finish today.
Nadler said was “sad” that the dismantling had to happen, but was pleased that it has been a “rapid clean-up”.
The last time this kind of event happened was about 10 years ago, he said.
The Racing Club President, Charles White, said the Castlepoint Races hadn’t been affected, and it wouldn’t have been a hazard anyway.
Maritime NZ started an investigation relating to the grounded fishing vessel on February 9.
“Since Maritime NZ started its investigation, its staff have started carrying out interviews, examining the scene, reviewing documents, and gathering other evidence as required.
“Maritime NZ will assess all the information gathered, then make a decision about what, if any, further action to take.
“The relevant legislation is the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and the Maritime Transport Act 1994.
“Maritime NZ has up to a year from the incident occurring on 9 February to make a decision as to whether to take compliance action.” after writing it off, oversaw the clean-up, Nadler said.
He said that, due to the extent of the boat’s damage and that the closest repair site was in Wellington, it couldn’t be refloated because it was too much of a risk.
Water that had flooded inside the ship would have made it difficult to repair the vessel, he said.
“It was unfortunate.”
After the call to dismantle it was made, the intention was to tow it above the high tide mark in one piece, but when parts of the boats broke away, they left it there, he said.
Due to the tidal zone, once the ship started to break up, the clean-up crew had to move quickly.
Nadler saw no significant oil spill, only some light sheen, because the water washed about the engine. Due to the warm weather, wind and waves, the sheen dissipated “very quickly”.
A vacuum truck took out the majority of the oil.
A clean-up crew transferred the many different pieces of the ship to the top of the beach and secured them, eventually disposing of the bigger pieces with trucks. The metal parts went to the scrap dealer yesterday and the timber parts elsewhere, but some of the timber wasn’t in great condition and was disposed of.
Castlepoint locals also lent a helping hand, picking up small pieces of debris, Nadler said.
“They have done a very good job in a short space of time.”
He estimated the clean-up would have finished either yesterday or there may be one more truckload to finish today.
Nadler said was “sad” that the dismantling had to happen, but was pleased that it has been a “rapid clean-up”.
The last time this kind of event happened was about 10 years ago, he said.
The Racing Club President, Charles White, said the Castlepoint Races hadn’t been affected, and it wouldn’t have been a hazard anyway.
Maritime NZ started an investigation relating to the grounded fishing vessel on February 9.
“Since Maritime NZ started its investigation, its staff have started carrying out interviews, examining the scene, reviewing documents, and gathering other evidence as required.
“Maritime NZ will assess all the information gathered, then make a decision about what, if any, further action to take.
“The relevant legislation is the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and the Maritime Transport Act 1994.
“Maritime NZ has up to a year from the incident occurring on 9 February to make a decision as to whether to take compliance action.”
