A transport safety agency says it has found an urgent and potentially lethal safety issue with fuel systems for commercial boats, as part of its investigation into a vessel capsize last year that killed five people.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) released the safety issue finding as part of its preliminary report into the capsize of the i-Catcher at Goose Bay near Kaikōura on September 10 last year, in which five people died.
TAIC is recommending that Maritime NZ improve its system for boat surveys and alert surveyors of the importance of inspecting the entire fuel system of vessels.
Initial inquiries have shown i-Catcher capsized after contact with a whale, TAIC said.
Eleven people were onboard the vessel. Five passengers and the skipper were rescued but five passengers died, with their bodies found in the upturned hull of the vessel.
Charter boat i-Catcher capsized near Kaikōura in September last year, killing five of the 11 onboard. (Source: 1News)
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Evidence from TAIC's medical consultant has shown that the dead passengers had inhaled petrol fumes, with petrol found on the water surface of the air pocket in the hull.
The initial report said this very likely reduced the survivability of the accident.
TAIC's chief accident investigator Naveem Kozhuppakalam said the petrol almost certainly leaked from flaws in the vessel's fuel system.
"A pipe connected to the secondary fuel tank vent hose had a hole that was the main source of leaked fuel," he said.
There was another leak from the primary fuel tank vent hose — a critical component to ensure a secure connection to the fuel take — which also wasn't secured with a hose clamp.
The vessel had been surveyed five times by different surveyors in its 13 years of commercial service but TAIC has not identified when the hole appeared. None of the survey reports show inspections of the fuel systems below the deck plate.
Surveyors are more likely to find deficiencies if they are required to inspect the whole fuel system of a vessel, not just parts that are easy to access, TAIC said.
"This is about more than the i-Catcher; it is system-wide, nationwide because there are hundreds of boats like i-Catcher in our commercial fleet, tens of thousands more in the recreational fleet."
Maritime NZ responds
Maritime NZ's deputy chief executive of regulatory operations Deb Despard said it was acting on TAIC's findings and was making the industry aware "of this important issue when conducting surveys and carrying out maintenance".
"We are working on guidance for the industry to remind them about some of the considerations raised," she said.
"We are treating this as a priority and will communicate it to the industry as quickly as possible."
She said Maritime NZ's own investigation into the "tragic incident" was continuing.
"I want to offer my sincere condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this incident, as well as to everyone else who has been affected."
TAIC is continuing with a full inquiry into the incident.
Additional reporting by Adam Ray
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