Ferry hit bottom of Tory Channel—M.P.

Press, 18 June 1986, Page 3

Ferry hit bottom of Tory Channel—M.P.

PA Wellington The Cook Strait rail ferry Aratika hit the bottom of Tory Channel during a March sailing after changing course to avoid another ferry coming towards her, an Opposition member of Parliament asserted yesterday. However, the Minister of Transport, Mr Prebble, told Parliament there had been no grounding. The National member for Tauranga, Mr W. R. Peters, had asked if a Cook Strait ferry had briefly run aground in Tory Channel in the Marlborough Sounds on March 29 and, if so, what were the circumstances and report on that grounding. Mr Prebble said the answer to the first question was “no.” "The Ministry of Transport does not prepare reports on things that haven’t happened.” Mr Peters: I’ll take that smile off your face.

The Opposition member, who is also National’s transport spokesman, then asked if a report had been made from Picton to the Railways Corporation and the Marine Division. Mr Prebble said not only was the Ministry of Transport telling Parliament that no grounding had happened but as Minister of Railways he had made inquiries of the corporation and “it’s all news to them as well.” Mr Peters persisted, asking if Mr Prebble had made inquiries with the Marlborough Harbour Board as to whether it had received any report of a brief grounding by a Cook Strait ferry. In an obvious reference to the sinking of the Russian liner Mikhail Lermontov in the Marlborough Sounds, Mr Prebble said it appeared that Mr Peters was “getting his ships confused.” But Mr Peters later said he was certain from his

sources that the ferry had "bumped off the bottom” of Tory Channel. The incident had happened at 8.50 a.m. on Saturday, March 29, when the Arahura was coming from Picton, he told NZPA. The Arahura had called

the Aratika, through Tory channel but had then also entered the narrow channel. To prevent the risk of collision, the Aratika had taken evasive action, grounding briefly.

Because the crew had felt the bump, divers had been called in to check the vessel but they had found no evidence of a grounding.

The incident was serious and had the potential to have caused loss of life, Mr Peters said. He accused Mr Prebble of not doing his job and claimed there had been a “cover-up.”

Mr Prebble had to explain why there had been no official inquiry. Referring to the decision not to hold a formal inquiry into the Mikhail Lermontov sinking, Mr Peters said the ferry incident showed New Zealand was fast becoming a “maritime joke.”