Kotuku owner feels vindicated over Maritime NZ report

Kotuku owner feels vindicated over Maritime NZ report

NZPA
August 27, 2008

The owner of the fishing boat which sank off Stewart Island in 2006, resulting in the loss of six lives, says he feels vindicated by the latest report on the incident.

Maritime New Zealand 's (MNZ) final report on the sinking, released yesterday, said the prime reason the Kotuku went down was because two big waves hit it side on.
The report said some safety issues had not been addressed but that an independent investigator had found the Kotuku to have been seaworthy.

Those findings were at odds with a scathing report released in April by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) which said the vessel was unseaworthy and should never have passed statutory inspections.
TAIC highlighted the "repeated failure" of MNZ's ship safety inspection system to identify problems with the boat.
It also noted lifesaving equipment was either not working or missing and said the skipper had not followed correct procedures.
Despite some criticism, the boat's owner John Edminstin, said he felt vindicated by the latest report.

"Like I've been telling you people and everyone since day one, there was nothing wrong with the boat," he told The Southland Times. "All along I knew the boat was in good nick."
Mr Edminstin said he still felt anger towards the TAIC report.
"All along I've shut me trap -- I'll have my say when I've read it (the MNZ report) properly."

He said he had spoken to his lawyer about challenging any of the findings in the TAIC report and had been told the answer was "probably no".
He wanted those affected by the tragedy to get some closure and said the aim of the investigation was not to apportion blame.
A string of recommendations have been enacted by MNZ following the investigations in an effort to make the maritime industry as safe as possible.

Its director Catherine Taylor said the Kotuku investigation had been a long and demanding process and one of the most intense it had ever undertaken.

The report said investigations were made difficult by the boat having sat on the sea floor for some time and having been damaged both in the sinking and the salvage operation.
Ms Taylor said the event was a tragedy and MNZ sympathised with all the whanau, families and friends of those who were lost.
"We thank them for their courage and their help in assisting us during what has been a long and difficult process for all involved.
"We now hope that the release of the report now brings some measure of closure," she said.

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