Floating Foundation crew aid mission abandon ship on Waiheke Island
Half the crew of the Floating Foundation charity mission, preparing to sail for Tonga and Fiji, have quit after allegations of their boss's bullying and sexual liaisons with young volunteers were revealed.
Members of previous missions have accused Craig Koning, 33, of injuring a woman while drunk, subjecting those on board his aid expeditions to Tonga to emotional and verbal abuse, and singling out young female crew and volunteers for sex. He also bungled the crew's visas, making them all overstayers at one point in 2017's expedition.
The foundation's boat – an old ex-Lyttelton fishing vessel named the Southern Progress
– was moored in Oneroa Bay, Waiheke Island, over the weekend and early this week. Waiheke local Stephen Pearson said he took note of the boat when he heard two "long screams from a male" coming from it on Saturday.
On Sunday morning, Stuff reported seven whistleblowers' concerns about Mr Koning's behaviour towards young women. Mr Pearson said he watched a dinghy from the
Southern Progress drop a young woman off on shore about 9.40am on Tuesday. He said the woman was an English backpacker in her early 20s and "very shaken", and that she told him she had been a member of Craig Koning's 11-strong current crew. "She said that Craig had told them not to read the story that came out about him on Sunday – but of course they did, and afterwards she didn't want anything more to do with him."
Mr Pearson said he had been "very concerned" about the woman's state of mind, and helped her find food and accommodation. "I have daughters her age and it's horrible to think of them in a situation like that," he said.
Mr Pearson kept in touch with the woman through the day and said she told him that five other members of the Craig Koning's crew had also left the boat.
The entire crew of the Floating Foundation's 2017 expedition and a volunteer from its 2016 expedition have spoken out against Mr Koning, saying he created a toxic and unsafe work environment.
Mr Koning has acknowledged his bullying of crew in 2016 and 2017 was "inappropriate" and said he has sought therapy to help deal with his issues. He said he didn't see forming intimate relationships with young volunteers as problematic, however.
One man told Stuff he had been a member of the crew while the Southern Progress was moored off Waiheke Island. After finding out about Mr Koning's behaviour on past voyages, several members of the crew had decided to cut ties with Mr Koning and the Foundation, he said.
"We as a crew believe in and have enjoyed our time as volunteers working towards the mission of research and bringing medical equipment to remote communities in the Pacific," he said.
"We have acted in good faith towards this goal unknowing of issues from past voyages. On finding out about these issues we as crew have decided that these past actions do not align with our beliefs.
"We would appreciate if you respected our privacy at this time."
He confirmed that he and other members of the crew were no longer aboard the Southern Progress. A 19-year-old woman on the crew, who asked not to be named, said "everyone who needed to be off the boat was off the boat and safe".
By Wednesday morning the Southern Progress had left Oneroa Bay, according to locals.
It had been moored at Auckland's Wynyard Wharf, where Mr Koning and a team of volunteers were readying the boat for a voyage to Fiji and Tonga in August. The foundation had carried out medical aid and scientific research missions in Tonga in 2017 and 2016.
A spokesperson for the Department of Internal Affairs confirmed on Tuesday that Charities Services had received a complaint about the Floating Foundation.