The owner of a Wellington-based fishing company and the company's fishing boat master have been fined over $500,000 after their "grossly overloaded" ship sank off the coast of Kaikōura three years ago.
Nino's Limited owner Antonio Basile and the vessel's master, Shane McCauley, pleaded guilty in the Wellington District Court today to three charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The company also pleaded guilty on a further two charges under the Maritime Transport Act.
According to Maritime NZ, the vessel, Victory II, had a maximum capacity of no more than five tonnes. However, it was found to have been carrying at least 28 tonnes when it sank in June 2017.
Due to being overloaded, the entire boat sank in only two minutes - so quickly that the four men on board did not have enough time to put on their life jackets, Maritime NZ said in a statement.
"That's like putting 20 medium-sized cars onto a small fishing boat," said central regional compliance manager Michael-Paul Abbott.
An investigation into Nino's Limited found the vessel had been consistently overloaded with its smallest-recorded catch being 5.584 tonnes, narrowly above its maximum capacity, while its biggest catch was 27 tonnes.
It was also discovered that the company had also stopped paying wages to two of its crew after the fishing boat had sunk, despite being required to pay their employees' wages for two months following the incident.
“The four men on-board were very fortunate to be rescued. This trip could have ended in tragedy and the lives of the crew were unnecessarily put in danger, ” said Mr Abbott.
Basile and McCauley were fined a collective total of $449,500 while the company was ordered to pay $64,800 in reparations for to the crew for unpaid wages.
According to Maritime NZ, the McCauley claimed he was unaware of the fishing boat's five tonne capacity. Only the ship's owner had seen the 'stability book', which outlined the boat's load limit, he claimed.
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