New route for cruise ships

Cruise ships have been banned from taking the same route as ferries in the Marlborough Sounds following an incident being investigated by maritime authorities.

Earlier this year, the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Azamara Quest struck Wheki Rock after entering Tory Channel with a Port Marlborough pilot on board.

The incident is being investigated by Maritime New Zealand and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission, who have released urgent recommendations for cruise ships and pilots using the channel.

TAIC surface investigations manager Martin Harper said the inquiry into the Azamara Quest incident, which was ongoing, had identified safety issues that needed to be addressed.

Current harbour risk assessments relied on the operating practices of Cook Strait ferry operators, however there were additional risks associated with cruise ships that should be considered separately, he said.

‘‘Given this, the commission recommends that the Marlborough District Council reviews its harbour risk assessment and considers additional risks posed by cruise ships using Tory Channel to access the port of Picton.’’

Harper said the council had responded positively to the recommendations, saying cruise ships would not be able to use the channel until significant and critical controls had been put in place.

Until these were established, cruise ships would have to enter Queen Charlotte Sound through the Northern Entrance, a delay of about 40 minutes if they were coming from Wellington.

Marlborough harbour master Alex van Wijngaarden, who is responsible for harbour safety, said a major review of the Risk Assessment for the Save Navigation of Ships was already underway when the Azamara Quest incident happened.

However, immediately after the incident, all cruise ship transits through Tory Channel were suspended until risk controls could be reviewed and amended as necessary, including the introduction of some new controls.

‘‘We support the Transport Accident Investigation Commission’s recommendations and agree that the precautions to be introduced are justified for larger cruise vessels,’’ Wijngaarden said.

‘‘Tory Channel, particularly near the heads, can be a very challenging stretch of water where conditions can change quickly.’’

Last cruise season, which saw 35 total visits to Picton, Wijngaarden estimated only five ships would have used the Tory Channel entrance, which was limited to ships less than 200 metres in length.

As a result of the Transport Accident Investigation Commission recommendations, Wijngaarden was this week meeting with Maritime New Zealand, the pilot authority, and Port Marlborough, the pilot provider.

The purpose of the meeting was to come up with a new format to assess whether cruise ships could use the entrance, which would be established on a case-by-case basis.

Wijngaarden said it was too early to say what the new format would look like, but said it would take into consideration factors such as length, tide and weather conditions, propulsion and whether the ship had visited the port before.

He said he was hopeful the new format would be in place by the beginning of the coming cruise season, which started on October 6 when the first ship arrived.