THE PRESS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1983. Competency at sea

Press, 1 February 1983, Page 20

THE PRESS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1983. Competency at sea

An inescapable result of increased harvesting of New Zealand fish stocks is an increase in the number of vessels in waters around our coasts and a corresponding increase in the likelihood of shipping accidents. The ever-present possibility of a marine accident must be accepted, but the increased risk should encourage a more determined effort to prevent accidents that occur only through negligence or incompetence. Repeated complaints from New Zealand commercial fishermen about lax watch-keeping and other dangerous practices on foreign or joint-venture vessels fishing in the same waters have been punctuated by incidents that prove their point. One such incident was the stranding of a Taiwanese-crewed joint-venture vessel, the Yung Pen. at Owhiro Bay, near Wellington, on December 12. A dramatic rescue by helicopter and small boats prevented a loss of life, but bad weather at the time could easily have determined otherwise. The result of a preliminary inquiry into the shipwreck was announced yesterday. Gross incompetence on the part of the Yung Pen’s master, compounded by poor navigation and seamanship, have been held responsible for the grounding. As a result, all joint-venture companies have been told by the Minister of Transport, Mr Gain that the master of the Yung Pen will not be accepted in future as the master of any fishing vessel working in New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone. A month after the wreck of the Yung Pen. two squid boats, one from Taiwan and the other from Japan, went into Wellington after a bow-on collision. This incident is still under inquiry but, since it occurred outside the 12-mile limit and neither vessel was part of a joint venture, New Zealand jurisdiction is in doubt. New Zealand fishermen have laid formal complaints with the Marine Division on several occasions as a result of almost being rammed by foreign-registered squid boats or long-liners that appeared to be ignoring the basic rules of seamanship, but tracking down offenders is difficult, particularly when incidents occur at night. .

Under international agreement. NewZealand has little option to allowing foreign vessels to fish waters not being used by domestic or joint-venture fishermen. The degree of control that can be exercised on foreign ships is limited. The grounding of the Pacific Charger near Wellington Heads showed how difficult it can be to ensure the competency of officers and crews while the international maritime community — and insurance companies — are prepared to accept flags of convenience and mail-order certificates of competency. The same does not apply to jointventure vessels such as the Yung Pen, however. The Shipping and Seamen Act lays down strict requirements for the certification, after examination, of masters, mates, and engineers of New Zealand fishing vessels. It also requires adequate certification of the officers of other fishing vessels working New Zealand waters from New Zealand ports. For the purposes of foreign crews, certificates granted in countries other than New Zealand are acceptable if the Secretary of Transport is satisfied that they have been granted after , the fulfilment of conditions of service and examination similar to those applying to New Zealanders. The increasing number of incidents being reported in which negligence or incompetence appear to play a part should be reason enough to review some of the overseas procedures for certification. Would the holders of certificates granted by some overseas authorities be proficient enough to pass New Zealand requirements? If the answer is “no,” the risk of collisions . at sea and groundings is being permitted to increase in a manner both needless' and unacceptable. If the answer is “no,” consideration should be given to some additional review of ability before such persons are let loose in the fishery. New Zealand has the opportunity and the responsibility to reduce to the minimum the potential for disaster in this section of the fishery. It is demanding of domestic fishermen; it should be no less demanding of others over whom it has some control.